Polymer self-assembly has been one
of the most important strategies
for preparation of multicompartment micelles (MCMs). However, the
traditional self-assembly techniques are constrained by limited common
solvent, complex kinetic factors, low solids content, etc. Polymerization-induced
self-assembly (PISA) is a novel technique for preparation of polymer
assemblies at high solids content and has been exploited to produce
MCMs. Nevertheless, the morphology evolution of the MCMs obtained
through PISA has not yet been well understood. Herein, we study the
compartmentalization behaviors of a series of MCMs constituted by
poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl
methacrylate)-b-poly(benzyl methacrylate)-b-poly(2-perfluorohexylethyl methacrylate) (PDMA-b-PBzMA-b-PFHEMA) triblock terpolymers,
which were synthesized by seeded reversible addition–fragmentation
chain transfer (RAFT) dispersion polymerization of FHEMA using PDMA-b-PBzMA micelles, wormlike micelles, or vesicles as the
seeds. Because of the strong incompatibility between PBzMA and PFHEMA,
MCMs with abundant compartmentalized nanostructures were produced.
Phosphotungstic acid- and RuO4-stained TEM images of these
MCMs indicate that their morphologies are controlled by both the DPs
of PBzMA and PFHEMA. Our results suggest that PISA could serve as
a reliable platform for revealing the compartmentalization behaviors
of polymeric assemblies.