Journal
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 8, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14057
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Funding
- National Science Foundation [DMR 1501324]
- CRP Consortium at Carnegie Mellon University
- U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory [DE-FE0004000]
- EU
- federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia [EFRE 30 00 883 02]
- Division Of Materials Research
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [1501324] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Cubosomes are micro-and nanoparticles with a bicontinuous cubic two-phase structure, reported for the self-assembly of low molecular weight surfactants, for example, lipids, but rarely formed by polymers. These objects are characterized by a maximum continuous interface and high interface to volume ratio, which makes them promising candidates for efficient adsorbents and host-guest applications. Here we demonstrate self-assembly to nanoscale cuboidal particles with a bicontinuous cubic structure by amphiphilic poly(ionic liquid) diblock copolymers, poly(acrylic acid)-block-poly(4-vinylbenzyl)-3-butyl imidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide, in a mixture of tetrahydrofuran and water under optimized conditions. Structure determining parameters include polymer composition and concentration, temperature, and the variation of the solvent mixture. The formation of the cubosomes can be explained by the hierarchical interactions of the constituent components. The lattice structure of the block copolymers can be transferred to the shape of the particle as it is common for atomic and molecular faceted crystals.
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