Structural Observation and Kinetic Pathway in the Formation of Polymeric Micelles

The route by which amphiphilic molecules self-assemble into micelles is still not fully understood. In this Letter, we present direct structural information on the birth and growth of block copolymer micelles by means of synchrotron x-ray scattering with millisecond time resolution. Using a quantitative model, we show that the self-assembly process can be viewed as a nucleation and growth type process where the elemental growth mechanism is an exchange of single molecules.