A series of novel rod-rod diblock copolymers containing poly{2,5-bis[(4-methoxyphenyl)-oxycarbonyl]styrene} (PMPCS) and poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) (PBLG) were synthesized by click chemistry from alkyne-and azide-functionalized homopolymers. The R-alkyne PMPCS homopolymers were synthesized by copper-mediated atom transfer radical polymerization with a bromine-containing R-alkyne bifunctional initiator, and R-azido PBLG homopolymers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of γ-benzyl-L-glutamate N-carboxyanhydride with an amino-containing R-azide initiator. The molecular structures of the rod-rod block copolymers were confirmed by 1 H NMR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography analysis. The self-assembling behavior of the rod-rod block copolymers in bulk was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry, polarized light microscopy, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy techniques. A lamellar structure was observed with f PBLG of ∼0.50, in which PMPCS was in a columnar nematic phase and PBLG assigned to a hexagonally packed-cylinder structure (Φ H ). According to the TEM micrographs and simulated lengths of the copolymers, a stacked bilayer structure in a hexagon in lamella morphology for the selfassembly of the rod-rod block copolymers was proposed. Finally, by increasing f PBLG to ∼0.69, a microphase-separated hexagon in cylinder morphology was found, in which PMPCS formed the core of the cylinders surrounded by PBLG in Φ H phase and both rods were in an interdigitated packing.
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