Self-assembling of hydrophobic-hydrophilic copolymers in hydrophobic nanocylindrical tubes: formation of channels

By employing Monte Carlo simulations, the phase behavior of hydrophobic-hydrophilic copolymers confined in hydrophobic nanocylindrical tubes has been investigated by changing the hydrophobic-hydrophilic distribution, the ratio of the hydrophobic to hydrophilic segments, the hydrophobicity of the tube surface, and the tube diameter. The ratio of hydrophobic to hydrophilic segments, the number of blocks in a chain, and the number of segments in a block affected the generation of channels in the central region. Such channels were formed when the hydrophobicity of the tube surface was sufficiently strong for its attraction for the hydrophobic segments to overcome the attraction between the hydrophobic segments. When the numbers of hydrophobic and hydrophilic beads in a chain are constant, the number of blocks has opposite effects in small and large tubes. In the former, the formation of channels is stimulated by a larger number of blocks, while in the latter, it is stimulated by a smaller number of blocks.