Platelet Self-Assembly of an Amphiphilic A−B−C−A Tetrablock Copolymer in Pure Water

A new principle demonstrated for controlling the self-assembly of amphiphilic tetrablock copolymer molecules and to explore the possibility of designing such amphiphilic molecules was discussed. The approach used an ABCA tetrablock copolymer with hydrophilic A blocks and hydrophobic B and C blocks. It was found that the molecular weight of each of the blocks was about 35 kg/mol. Experiments showed that the platelets with lateral dimensions in the 100-300 nm range formed spontaneously in dilute ABCA/water mixture at 45°C. The work provided a systematic study of the aggregation of amphiphilic ABCA tetrablock copolymers as a function of molecular architecture and solvent quality.