Synthesis of well-defined thermoresponsive polymer nanostuctures

Recent advances in ‘click’ chemistry, living radical polymerisation (LRP), and self-assembly techniques have enabled the preparation of polymer nanostructures with tailored properties and functions. A multitude of unique ‘soft’ nanoparticles can be designed by controlling their chemical composition, surface functionality, and shape to target specific applications across numerous disciplines. Though considerable progress has been made, preparing well-defined multicompartment nanostructures with complex morphologies remains challenging. In this thesis, we used the Temperature-Directed Morphology Transformation (TDMT) method developed by our group as the main synthetic platform to produce symmetric and asymmetric polymers directly in water and at scale. Specifically, we investigated the effect of modifying polymer composition, hydrophobic core stiffness/mobility and corona density on the morphology and properties of anisotropic polymer nanostructures.

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