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Updated: May 8, 2026

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers
Published on: June 20, 2019
Tunable assembly of amphiphilic rod-coil block copolymers in solution
Jie Zhang1, Xiao-Fang Chen, Hai-Bing Wei
1Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. xhwan@pku.edu.cn.
Abstract:
This review covers the recent progress in the research field of rod-coil block copolymers (BCPs) containing rigid rod-like blocks and flexible coil-like blocks. Their assembly behaviors are fundamentally different from coil-coil BCPs in morphology because of the geometric disparity between the rod and coil segments and anisotropic interactions between rod blocks to form liquid crystalline or crystalline structures. Rod-coil BCPs can self-assemble into diverse nanostructures in selective solvents, such as micelles, cylinders, vesicles, tubules, belts, and rings. This review highlights valuable contributions in the past six years on the self-assembly behavior of rod-coil BCPs controlled by the volume fraction and the composition of the blocks from both the experimental and theoretical perspectives, and their tunable self-assembled nanostructures triggered by external stimuli, such as solvent, pH, temperature, light, and chemical additives. We also briefly introduce emerging applications of rod-coil nanoparticles in the biological field.
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