Effect of Chain Architecture on Self-Assembled Aggregates from Cyclic AB Diblock and Linear ABA Triblock Copolymers in Solution

The self-assembly behaviors of two block copolymers with the same chain length but different chain architectures (cyclic AB, linear ABA) in B-selective solvents are investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. A morphological transition sequence, from spherical micelles to cylindrical micelles, to vesicles and then to multicompartment vesicles, is observed for both copolymer systems when the interaction between the solvophobic A-block and the …