Self‐Seeding in One Dimension: An Approach To Control the Length of Fiberlike Polyisoprene–Polyferrocenylsilane Block Copolymer Micelles

Abstract

Do it yourself: When short fragments (ca. 50 nm) of rodlike PI-PFS block copolymer micelles in decane are heated above a characteristic temperature (60 °C) and then cooled to room temperature, a smaller number of longer micelles with a narrow length distribution are obtained. This process resembles self-seeding of polymer crystals, involving selective dissolution of the fragments of the lowest degree of crystallinity with the surviving submicroscopic seeds acting as nuclei for the growth of micelles upon cooling.