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Updated: May 6, 2026
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Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
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Corona Chain-Controlled Transition from Ostwald Ripening-Grown Hexagonal Platelets to Screw-Dislocation Spirals in
Liying Kang1, Qi Wang1, Xiangyu Xu1
1Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Devices for Post-Moore Chips, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
Nano Letters
|May 5, 2026
Summary
Ostwald ripening drives polymer self-assembly, forming hexagonal platelets from liquid-crystalline polypeptoids. Block copolymers transform these structures into complex hexagonal spirals, revealing new self-assembly mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Science
- Materials Science
- Crystallography
Background:
- Ostwald ripening is a common phenomenon in colloidal systems but less recognized in polymer self-assembly.
- Liquid-crystalline polypeptoids exhibit unique self-assembly behaviors due to their chain architecture.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate Ostwald ripening as a dominant pathway in the self-assembly of liquid-crystalline polypeptoids.
- To explore the morphological transitions induced by block copolymerization in these systems.
Main Methods:
- Solution self-assembly of poly(N-2-ethyl-1-hexyl glycine) (PNEHG) homopolymers and their block copolymers.
- Analysis of self-assembled structures using techniques to observe mesophase formation and morphological changes.
Main Results:
- PNEHG homopolymers self-assemble into hexagonal platelets via Ostwald ripening, driven by columnar hexagonal mesophase formation.
- Incorporation of a poly(N-methyl glycine) (PNMG) block leads to a transition from platelets to hexagonal spirals with screw dislocations.
- Steric constraints at the core-corona interface were identified as the driving force for this morphological transition.
Conclusions:
- Ostwald ripening is a crucial mechanism in the mesogenic growth of liquid-crystalline polypeptoids.
- The corona-forming block acts as a regulator in liquid crystallization-driven self-assembly, controlling morphology.
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