Hierarchical self-assembly of a PS-b-P4VP/PS-b-PNIPAM mixture into multicompartment micelles and their response to two-dimensional confinement.

Hierarchical self-assembly offers an elegant and energy-efficient bottom-up strategy for the fabrication of complex materials with precisely controllable morphologies and internal structures. Herein, pupa-like multicompartment micelles (MCMs) were readily fabricated via the hierarchical self-assembly of a polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) and polystyrene-block-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PS-b-PNIPAM) block copolymer mixture in a THF/water mixture solvent, which were unable to be obtained by any of the individual block copolymers (BCPs). This means that the hierarchical self-assembly is a result of the synergistic cooperation between the two BCPs.