Self-Assembly of Rod-Coil Block Copolymers.

Block copolymer architectures containing both rigid-rod and flexible-coil blocks have novel self-organizing features and functional properties not possible with coil-coil architectures, We describe the self-assembly of new rod-coil diblock, rod- coil-rod triblock, and coil-rod-coil triblock copolymers from solution and the resulting discrete and periodic mesostmctares with sizes in the 100 nanometer to 200 micrometer range. For example, hollow microspheres, cylindrical microtubules, disc- like lamellae, and doughnut shaped discrete objects self-organized from polyquinoline-b-polystyrene diblocks in a selective solvent for the polyquinolineLA. However, the same rod-coil diblock copolymers in a selective solvent for the polystyrene form hollow spheres which self-order into periodic mesoporous materials B.