Synthesis and self-assembly behaviors of well-defined poly(lauryl methacrylate)-block-poly[N-(2-methacryloylxyethyl)pyrrolidone] copolymers

A series of structurally controllable poly(lauryl methacrylate)-b-polyN-(2-methacryloylxyethyl)pyrrolidone], PLMA-b-PNMP, diblock copolymers were synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. The self-assembly behaviors of PLMA-b-PNMP in a selective solvent, tetrahydrofuran (THF), were studied by employing static light scattering, dynamic light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy in detail. The relationships between the aggregation parameters, such as critical micelle concentration and the aggregation number (N _agg), and the molecular structure were established. It was found that spherical micelles can be formed once the solvophobic block length of polyN-(2-methacryloylxyethyl)pyrrolidone] is larger than 215. Moreover, extremely small and monodisperse gold nanoparticles (<2 nm) were synthesized by employing PLMA-b-PNMP diblock copolymers in THF.