Micelle formation, gelation and phase separation of amphiphilic multiblock copolymers

The phase behaviour of amphiphilic multiblock copolymers with a large number of blocks in semidilute solutions is studied by lattice Monte Carlo simulations. The influence on the resulting structures of the concentration, the solvent quality and the ratio of hydrophobic to hydrophilic monomers in the chains has been assessed explicitly. Several distinct regimes are put in evidence. For poorly substituted (mainly hydrophilic) copolymers formation of micelles is observed, either isolated or connected by the hydrophilic moieties, depending on concentration and chain length. For more highly substituted chains larger tubular hydrophobic structures appear which, at higher concentration, join to form extended hydrophobic cores. For both substitution ratios gelation is observed, but with a very different gel network structure. For the poorly substituted chains the gel consists of micelles cross-linked by hydrophilic blocks whereas for the highly substituted copolymers the extended hydrophobic cores form the gelling network. The interplay between gelation and phase separation clearly appears in the phase diagram. In particular, for poorly substituted copolymers and in a narrow concentration range, we observe a sol-gel transition followed by an inverse gel-sol transition when increasing the interaction energy. The simulation results are discussed in the context of the experimentally observed phase properties of methylcellulose, a hydrophobically substituted polysaccharide.