Undulating the Lamellar Interface of Polymer-Surfactant Complex by Dendrimer

Self-assembly of the supramolecules formed by the complexation between poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) generation four (G4) dendrimer and the surfactant, dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA), generated a hexagonal columnar phase and a typical flat lamellar phase at low and high surfactant binding ratio, respectively, due to the dominance of the dendrimer to attain its natural curvature and the surfactant alkyl tails to reduce their hydrophobic interaction energy and packing frustration. Most strikingly, the delicate balance between these two free energy components at the intermediate binding ratios resulted in an undulated lamellar structure characterized by the centered rectangular unit cell. The finding demonstrates the power of dendrimer as a building block for expanding the morphological window of polymeric assemblies by modulating the interfacial curvature of microphase-separated structure.