Additives Induced Structural Transformation of ABC Triblock Copolymer Particles

Here we report the structural control of polystyrene-b-polyisoprene-b-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-PI-b-P2VP) asymmetric ABC triblock copolymer particles under 3D confinement by tuning the interactions among blocks. The additives, including 3-n-pentadecylphenol, homopolystyrene, and solvents, which can modulate the interactions among polymer blocks, play significant roles in the particle morphology. Moreover, the structured particles can be disassembled into isolated micellar aggregates with novel morphologies or mesoporous particles with tunable pore shape. Interestingly, the formed pupa-like PS-b-PI-b-P2VP particles display interesting dynamic stretch retraction behavior when the solvent property is changed after partial cross-linking of the P2VP block. We further prove that such dynamic behavior is closely related to the density of cross-linking. The strategies presented here are believed to be promising routes to rationally design and fabricate block copolymer particles with desirable shape and internal structure.