Self-assembly of double hydrophilic block copolymer–nanoparticle mixtures within nanotubes

Abstract

Dissipative particle dynamics simulation is performed to investigate the self-assembly of double hydrophilic block copolymer–nanoparticle mixtures confined within a cylindrical nanotube. The self-assembled structure of the confined system depends sensitively on both the tube size and the polymer–tube interaction. By varying the tube size and its surface properties, we observe a variety of structures assembled by nanoparticles, including nanowire, nanotube, stacked disks, single helix, and double helix. Our results suggest an effective way to control the ordering of double hydrophilic block copolymer–nanoparticle mixtures within nanoscale confinement.