Self-assembly and confinement behaviors of poly(ethylene glycol) distearate within lamellar-mesostructured silica

Novel lamellar-mesostructured poly(ethylene glycol) distearate (PEGDS)/silica hybrids have been synthesized successfully through self-assembly with a sol–gel technology, in which the PEGDS is imbedded within silica interlayers through a micelle-templating technique by seeding rod micelles of the PEGDS as surfactant aggregate during the condensation of the silica sol performed by the hydrolysis of organosilane precursor. The well-ordered lamellar mesostructure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction patterns, transmission electronic microscopy, and N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms. Studies on confined behaviors of the PEGDS within silica matrix indicated that the molecular chains of the PEGDS with two-dimensional degree of freedom could still crystallize, though they were stranded one-dimensionally between the silica interlayers. However, the confinement effects of the lamellar mesostructure caused a significant decrease in both the melting and crystallization temperatures of the PEGDS.