Synergistic supramolecular assemblies from designed thermoresponsive block copolymers

Thermogelling, materials that undergo a transition from liquid to soft solids with temperature, have applications in therapeutics, tissue engineering and emerging fields such as soft robotics, where the triggered sol-gel transition can drastically improve application. In previous works, we explored the potential of ABA block copolymers as thermoreversible gels. By varying the nature and architecture of the blocks, different morphologies for the supracolloidal assemblies can be obtained, leading to different gel properties. In this project, we explore mixtures of ABAs and ABs block copolymers. In these mixtures, supracolloidal assemblies of different morphologies can be combined to improve or modulate the thermogelation process in ways that cannot be achieved by single-component systems. In mixed networks, we can combine tough-brittle with soft-compliant networks in order to obtain materials with desirable resilience and malleability. We request neutron beamtime to elucidate the morphology of the underlying networks, using contrast-matching to hide and highlight each network.