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Updated: May 28, 2026

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers
Published on: June 20, 2019
Self-assembly of poly(2-alkyl-2-oxazoline)s by crystallization in ethanol-water mixtures below the upper critical
Christina Diehl1, Ina Dambowsky, Richard Hoogenboom
1Department of Colloid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Research Campus Golm, D-14424 Potsdam, Germany.
Abstract:
Crystallization of poly(2-isobutyl-2-oxazoline) and poly(2-nonyl-2-oxazoline) is found to occur by room temperature annealing below the upper critical solution temperature in ethanol-water solvent mixtures. Both polymers produce similar self-assembled structures (see image), resembling the previously reported crystalline hierarchical structures obtained from hot aqueous poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline) solutions above the lower critical solution temperature. These observations suggest that the crystallization induced self-assembly process is a rather general phenomenon occurring for semicrystalline polymers in liquid-liquid two phase systems.
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