Preparation of poly(ionic liquid) nanoparticles through RAFT/MADIX polymerization-induced self-assembly

The first RAFT/MADIX polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) system was successfully developed for the preparation of rod-like poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) nanoparticles.

We report herein a facile method for hierarchical regulation of the morphology of poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) nanoparticles through the RAFT/MADIX aqueous polymerization-induced self-assembly of 3- n -dodecyl-1-vinylimidazolium bromide, using PEG-xanthate as the macro-CTA. Rigid straight rods were formed over a broad composition range even at a low solids content, due to the high incompatibility between the charged PIL block and the neutral PEG block.