Vesicle-to-cubosome transition from the solution self-assembly of branched-linear block copolymers triggered by the salting-out effect of Li ions
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Morphological control of soft nanostructures formed by the solution self-assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) is of significance for various applications. In particular, maneuvering morphological transformation from the self-assembly of BCPs via non-synthetic approaches have been of utmost interest due to minimal laborious synthesis required. Herein, we report the Li-ion-induced morphological transition of polymersomes of branched-linear BCPs composed of tri-arm polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrophilic blocks and linear polystyrene (PS) blocks. The addition of lithium ions induced morphological transformation from polymersomes to inverse bicontinuous structures including polymer cubosomes and hexosomes. By varying the architecture and end-group functionalized PEG segments, the extent of salting-out effect on the hydrophilic block can be tuned. Our results could provide a rationale to design amphiphilic BCPs to allow morphological transitions of BCP nanostructures in the presence of ions.