Mao Polystyrene nanorod formation in C 12 E 5 hemimicelle thin film templates

Surfactants self-associate into micelles with various radii of curvature, vesicles, and ordered liquid crystalline phases at the concentration above the critical micelle concentration (CMC) [1]. Recent atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies have shown that analogous structural transitions also occur at the solid/liquid interface. At the solid/liquid interface, surfactants selfassemble into discrete surface micelles with spherical, cylindrical, and disk-like shapes, in addition to the normal continuous monolayer and bilayer structures [2–7]. Previously, surfactant micelles, reversed micelles, micro-emulsions, vesicles, tubules, and liquid crystalline phases have been used as templates for nanostructured material synthesis with retention of the original template microstructure [8, 9]. The self-assembled structures of surfactants at surfaces may also serve as templates for the synthesis of nanostructured thin films by following similar recipes used in bulk mesophase synthesis. The nanostructured thin films may have applications in ultrafine separations, optoelectronic arrays, and surface modification. Polymerization in surfactant mesophases follows two synthesis routes. One uses the polymerizable surfactants [10] and the other relies on the localized solubilization of monomers in surfactant mesophases [11]. The two strategies can be combined to synthesize copolymers by Jinping Dong Guangzhao Mao Polystyrene nanorod formation in C12E5 hemimicelle thin film templates