MICELLIZATION OF AMPHIPHILIC BLOCK-COPOLYMERS AND USE OF THEIR MICELLES AS NANOSIZED REACTION VESSELS

Amphiphilic block copolymers made by a variety of techniques form in s elective solvents micelles of well defined size and shape. We report o n the underlying principles of micelle formation, as revealed by light scattering experiments.In addition, we will delineate some applicatio ns of these block-copolymer micelles where we focus on two technologic al relevant cases, namely the stabilization of polymer particles in lo w cohesion energy environments as well as the stabilization of metal a nd semiconductor colloids inside specially functionalized block copoly mer micelles. In the latter case, stable hybride materials are obtaine d where the properties both of the polymer and the inorganic are added in a synergistic way. First data on special catalytic properties, the generation of superparamagnetic materials, and special colloids with optical functionality are presented.