Previous
work has identified the importance of the lipophilic–fluorophilic
block length ratio
in predicting
the morphology of linear
lipophilic–hydrophilic–fluorophilic (hereafter referred
to as BAC) micelle systems. Here, a generalized form
of this structural
parameter is developed
that makes no assumption of BAC triblock co-polymer linearity, while
still providing accurate predictions of the micelle morphology. The
morphologies of BAC micelles formed by triblock co-polymers with
or
have similar features, with the only notable
difference being an inversion of the lipophilic and fluorophilic regions.
A destabilization of the single-core micelle structure occurs as
approaches
unity from either direction.
Finally, the extent to which the micelle morphology depends on the
polymer architecture instead of the composition alone is examined,
with a decreased patchiness observed in BAC systems with very long
block lengths. Through the modification of both the
-value and
the polymer architecture, the
micelle morphology can be effectively tuned for use in immobilized
catalysis and nanoreactor applications.