Multiple morphological micelles formed from the self-assembly of poly(styrene)-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine) containing cobalt dodecyl benzene sulfonate

A series of supramolecular block copolymers were prepared using poly(styrene)-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine)(PS-b-P4VP) which coordinated with cobalt dodecyl benzene sulfonate (Co(DBS)2) in tetrahydrofuran (THF). Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–vis absorption spectroscopy (UV) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that Co(DBS)2 coordinated to the lone electron pairs of the pyridine nitrogens in the P4VP block and leaded to complexes. The supramolecular block copolymers could self-assemble into nanosized micelles with different shapes and dimensions in THF, depending on the number of Co(DBS)2 groups per 4-vinylpyridine (repeat unit was denoted by n) and the ratio between PS block length and P4VP block length. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that when the number of repeat units of P4VP was more than that of PS, micelles with different interesting shapes such as spheres, rods, vesicles, large compound vesicles (LCVs) and the large compound micelles (LCMs) were observed if increasing the content of the Co(DBS)2 in PS-b-P4VP copolymer/THF solution; When the number of repeat units of P4VP was less than that of PS, the micelle morphologies changed from spheres to rods, bi-layer, and LCMs if the Co(DBS)2 content was increased progressively.