團聯式共聚高分子微胞在受限環境中的自組裝行為

Abstract

近幾年來，團聯式共聚高分子微胞(Block Copolymer Micelles)的自組裝研究引起 了學術界與工業界廣泛的注意。主要是因為這些微胞在許多不同領域的應用，例如催 化、生物感測、以及藥物傳遞等。這些微胞的形成是由於團聯式共聚高分子在溶液中與 選擇性溶劑相互作用的結果。不同形態的微胞例如球型(spherical) 、圓柱型 (cylindrical)、或是層狀(lamellar)的自組裝結構都在過去幾年相繼的被探討與研 究。但是目前仍有一個很重要但未被深入探討的問題:這些微胞在受限環境(confined geometries)下會有怎麼樣的自組裝行為? 團聯式共聚高分子微胞若是在未受限的環境 之中會形成接近溶液中平衡態的大小與結構，如果這些微胞是在受限的環境之中形成， 則受限效應(confinement effect)預期將會使這些微胞形成特殊的形態(morphology)。 本研究將採用大小可控制的孔洞性氧化鋁模板(porous aluminum oxide templates)來 提供適當的受限環境，以探討團聯式共聚高分子微胞在受限環境下的自組裝行為。我們 將研究不同孔洞大小對微胞產生形態的影響。此外，我們也將利用這些微胞奈米結構來 製作新穎的功能性材料，例如金屬與碳材等。本研究不但在高分子微胞的基礎物理上有 重要的意義，也將對微胞的應用帶來更多的可控性與彈性。

In recent years, self-assembly of block copolymer micelles has attracted great attention from both academia and industries because of its applications in different fields such as catalysis, bio-sensors, and drug delivery. These micelles are formed due to the self-assembly and interactions between block copolymers and selective solvents in the solution. Various forms of self-assembled micellar structures such as spherical, cylindrical, and lamellar have been studied in the past few years. However, there is still an important question that has yet to be addressed: What will be the self-assembly behavior of the block copolymer micelles under confined geometries. Without confinement, block copolymer micelles will form structures with sizes that reach their equilibrium states. If they are under confined geometries, however, confinement effect will enable unusual morphologies of micelles to be formed. This research will investigate the self-assembly of block copolymer micelles under confined geometries by using porous aluminum oxide templates with controllable pore sizes. We will study the effect of the pore sizes on the morphologies of the micelles. In addition, we will try to fabricate novel functional materials such as metal or carbon-based materials by applying these micellar structures. This study will not only contribute to our understanding of the fundamental physics of polymer micelles, but also provide more controllability and flexibility for the applications of micelles。