Probing Thermoresponsive Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly with Variable-Temperature Liquid-Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy

Georg M. Scheutz, Mollie A. Touve, Andrea S. Carlini, John B. Garrison, Karthikeyan Gnanasekaran, Brent S. Sumerlin*, Nathan C. Gianneschi*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

45 Scopus citations

Abstract

Block copolymers composed of a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic segment self-assemble in water into nanoparticles with sizes and shapes that depend on the nature and length of each segment. Accordingly, it is possible to control the assembly process to generate various nanomaterials, such as spherical micelles, worm-like micelles, or vesicles. We developed a method to directly synthesize block copolymers inside the liquid cell of an electron microscope, providing unprecedented real-time insight into the progression and evolution of polymerization and self-assembly processes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)722-736
Number of pages15
JournalMatter
Volume4
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 3 2021

Funding

This research was conducted with Government support under and awarded to N.C.G. and B.S.S. by DoD through the ARO ( W911NF-17-1-0326 ) and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, 32 CFR 168a , awarded to M.A.T. In addition, the authors thank the National Science Foundation for support of this work through CHE-1905270. The authors thank Dr. Chris Forman for his assistance with the design of the graphical content.

Keywords

  • MAP2: Benchmark
  • PISA
  • RAFT polymerization
  • TEM
  • block copolymer
  • liquid cell
  • liquid phase
  • polymerization-induced self-assembly

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science

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