Wirelike micelle formed by a T-shaped graft copolymer with a rigid backbone

The micellar structure of amphiphilic T-shaped graft copolymer consisting of a rigid backbone and a flexible side chain in a solvent selective for the flexible side chain was investigated by using a Brownian dynamics simulation. Focus was on how the conformational restriction of the graft copolymer imposed by both backbone rigidity and chain topology of graft copolymer affects the packing geometry of micellar aggregates. Results show that as the length of soluble graft chain increases, cylindrical micellar becomes longer in axial direction and more uniform in diameter.