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X-shaped liquid crystalline molecules (XLCMs) are obtained by tethering two flexible end A-blocks and two flexible side B-blocks to a rigid backbone (R). A rich array of ordered structures can be formed from XLCMs, driven by the competition…
We discuss recent developments and present new findings in the colloidal description of soft polymeric macromolecular aggregates. For various macromolecular architectures, such as linear chains, star polymers, dendrimers and polyelectrolyte…
When polyelectrolyte-neutral block copolymers are mixed in solutions to oppositely charged species (e.g. surfactant micelles, macromolecules, proteins etc), there is the formation of stable supermicellar aggregates combining both…
In conflict with standard notions of thermodynamics, mesoscopically-sized inclusions (``clusters'') of a solute-rich liquid have been observed in equilibrated solutions of proteins and other molecules. According to a complexation scenario…
Polymeric micelles are used in a variety of applications, with the micelle's shape often playing an important role. Consequently, a scheme to design micelles of arbitrary shape is desirable. In this paper, we consider micelles formed from a…
The presence of nanoparticles in a diblock copolymer leads to changes in the morphology and properties of the matrix and can produce highly organized hybrid materials. The resulting material properties depend not only on the polymer…
We studied solvent-driven ordering dynamics of block copolymer films supported by a densely cross-linked polymer network designed as organic hard mask (HM) for lithographic fabrications. The ordering of microphase separated domains at low…
A theoretical study of vesicles of topological genus zero is presented. The bilayer membranes forming the vesicles have various degrees of intrinsic (tangent-plane) orientational order, ranging from smectic to hexatic, frustrated by…
The correlations between the segments of a semidilute polymer solution are found to induce correlations in the positions of small particles added to the solution. Small means a diameter much less than the polymer's correlation length. In…
Following up a recent paper on grafted sliding polymer layers (Macromolecules 2005, 38, 1434-1441), we investigated the influence of the sliding degree of freedom on the self-assembly of sliding polymeric surfactants that can be obtained by…
Particle shape is a critical parameter that plays an important role in self-assembly, for example, in designing targeted complex structures with desired properties. In the last decades an unprecedented range of monodisperse nanoparticle…
Using scaled-particle theory for binary mixtures of two-dimensional hard particles with rotational freedom, we analyse the stability of nematic phases and the demixing phase behaviour of a variety of mixtures, focussing on cases where at…
We present using simple scaling arguments and one step replica symmetry breaking a theory for the localization of semiflexible polymers in a quenched random environment. In contrast to completely flexible polymers, localization of…
Generic interactions e.g. the Coulomb or other long ranged radially symmetric repulsive interactions between monomers of bead-spring model of a semi-flexible polymer induce instabilities in a initially straight polymer chain to form long…
Motivated by the structure of networks of cross-linked cytoskeletal biopolymers, we study the orientationally ordered phases in two-dimensional networks of randomly cross-linked semiflexible polymers. We consider permanent cross-links which…
The ordering of nanoparticles into predetermined configurations is of importance to the design of advanced technologies. In this work, we moderate the surface anchoring against the bulk elasticity of liquid crystals to dynamically shape…
The design of complex materials and the formation of specific patterns often arise from the properties of the individual building blocks. In this respect, colloidal systems offer a unique opportunity because nowadays they can be synthesized…
Surface-induced liquid crystalline phase transitions evoke fundamental interest and can provide deeper insight into the nature of low-dimensional phase transitions. Board-like conjugated polymers are particularly interesting because they…
The equilibrium properties of block copolymer micelles confined in polymer thin films are investigated using self-consistent field theory. The theory is based on a model system consisting of AB diblock copolymers and A homopolymers. Two…
Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are rubber-like solids that incorporate nematic mesogens (stiff rod-like molecules) as a part of their polymer chains. In recent years, isotropic-genesis, polydomain liquid crystal elastomers (I-PLCEs) has…