The Organization of Nanoporous Structure Using Controlled Micelle Size from MPEG-b-PDLLA Block Copolymers

Selected MPEG-b-PDLLA block copolymers have been synthesized by ring-opening polymerization with systematic variation of the chain lengths of the resident hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks. The size and shape of the micelles that spontaneously form in solution are then controlled by the characteristics of the block copolymer template. All the materials prepared in this study showed the tunable pore size of 20-80 ${\AA}$ with the increase of hydrophobic chain lengths and up to 660 $m^2$/g of specific surface area. The formation mechanism of these nanoporous structures obtained by controlling the micelle size has been confirmed using both liquid and solid state $^{13}C\;and\;^{29}Si$ NMR techniques. This work verifies the formation mechanism of nanoporous structures in which the pore size and wall thickness are closely dependent on the size of hydrophobic cores and hydrophilic shells of the block copolymer templates.