0000000000444809
AUTHOR
An-chang Shi
Critical Micelle Concentration of Micelles with Different Geometries in Diblock Copolymer/Homopolymer Blends
Summary In this paper, we have investigated the shape transition ofanisolatedmicelleformedintheAB-diblockcopolymerandA-homopolymer blends. SCFT has been employed tocompute the CMC for three different morphologies:lamellar, cylindrical and spherical. By comparing theCMC for different shapes, we can determine the preferredmicelle geometry. Several factors can influence the micellemorphology,andwehaveexploredtheeffectsofthediblockasymmetry, the homopolymer/copolymer length ratio andthe monomer–monomer interaction, on the micelle shapetransitions. It is found the micelle undergoes a sequenceof shape transitions, lamellar ! cylindrical ! spherical,when the A-block of the copolymer becomes longer.…
Elastic Properties and Line Tension of Self-Assembled Bilayer Membranes
The elastic properties of a self-assembled bilayer membrane are studied using the self-consistent field theory, applied to a model system composed of flexible amphiphilic chains dissolved in hydrophilic polymeric solvents. Examining the free energy of bilayer membranes with different geometries allows us to calculate their bending modulus, Gaussian modulus, two fourth-order membrane moduli, and the line tension. The dependence of these parameters on the microscopic characteristics of the amphiphilic chain, characterized by the volume fraction of the hydrophilic component, is systematically studied. The theoretical predictions are compared with the results from a simple monolayer model, whic…