Dissipative particle dynamics simulations on self-assembly of rod-coil-rod triblock copolymers in a rod-selective solvent

Self-assembly of rod-coil-rod ABA triblock copolymers in a rod-selective solvent is investigated by using dissipative particle dynamics simulations. The morphologies of the self-assembled aggregates are dependent on the number of copolymers in the aggregate and the rod length of the copolymer. We observe vesicles at short rod block and bowl-like aggregates at slightly longer rod block. In the vesicle region near the phase boundary, metastable bowl-like aggregates can be observed and be transformed into vesicles by annealing process. A transition from the bowl-like structure to the vesicle is observed by increasing the solvophobicity of the mid-coil block. In this study, the difference between the self-assembly of fully flexible ABA triblock copolymer and that of rod-coil-rod triblock copolymer is also discussed.