(735f) Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Nanosheets Based on Grafted Polymeric Triangular-Plate in Selective Solvents

Due to their extraordinary 2D symmetry and interfacial activity, amphiphilic nanosheets (ANs) display a great potential for the applications in interfacial emulsification, petroleum recovery and industrial catalysis. To explore the effects of solvents-ANs affinity, grafted polymer chain length and the concentration of ANs, we explored the self-assembly behavior of ANs by using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations. With the help of morphological phase diagrams, we demonstrated that the aggregate morphologies of ANs are majorly determined by the concentration of ANs. At low AN concentrations (i.e., <15%), the core-shell structured micelles with spherical, ellipsoidal, rod-like morphologies were formed. These core-shell structured micelles have big cavities in their cores due to their aggregation of the hydrophobic blocks polymer. At high concentrations (i.e., >20%), ANs tend to self-assembly into stable 2D nanopore membranes. Moreover, the nanopores size varying from 2.45 to 6.15 nm can be controlled by manipulating the concentration ratio. Our study provides helpful insights into the self-assembly behavior of ANs in selective solvents and the design of nanomaterials in chemical engineering fields.