Self-Assembly of Block Copolymers in Ionic Liquids

Self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers can impart desired discrete or continuous nanostructures, such as micelles utilized as drug delivery vehicles in aqueous solvents, or cross-linked micelles for stretchable electronics fabrications in ionic liquids. These appealing applications have motivated significant research efforts to understand the nano- and microstructure as well as the structure-property relationships underlying such self-assembled systems, with the ultimate goal being effective formulation. To take full advantage of the bottom-up self-assembly approach, a comprehensive understanding of the factors that govern the self-assembly behavior of dilute, concentrated and functionalized system of non-ionic block copolymers self-assembly in ionic liquids, as well as robust characterization methods for quantifying the microstructure and properties relationship must be reviewed. For each system, the most significant challenges are presented and discussed. In addition, current and potential applications of block copolymers/ionic liquid system are also discussed. This provides a measure of the current state of understanding, which motivates a brief look forward towards future directions in this field.