Effect of the strength of attraction between nanoparticles on Wormlike micelle-nanoparticle system

TL;DR

This study investigates how varying the strength of attraction between nanoparticles affects the morphology and self-assembly in wormlike micelle-nanoparticle systems, revealing shifts in structural transitions and new layered arrangements.

Contribution

It demonstrates how the attractive interaction strength influences morphological transformations and introduces the formation of layered nanoparticle arrangements within the polymer matrix.

Findings

Decreased attraction shifts morphological transition to lower EVP values.

Absence of attraction results in low packing but unchanged morphology.

Layered sheet-like nanoparticle arrangements are formed.

Abstract

The nanoparticle-Equilibrium polymer (or Wormlike micellar) system shows morphological changes from percolating network-like structures to non-percolating clusters with a change in the minimum approaching distance (EVP-excluded volume parameter) between nanoparticles and the matrix of equilibrium polymers. The shape anisotropy of nanoparticle clusters can be controlled by changing the polymer density. In this paper, the synergistic self-assembly of nanoparticles inside equilibrium polymeric matrix (or Wormlike micellar matrix) is investigated with respect to the change in the strength of attractive interaction between nanoparticles. A shift in the point of morphological transformation of the system to lower values of EVP as a result of a decrease in the strength of the attractive nanoparticle interaction is reported. We show that the absence of the attractive interaction between nanoparticles leads to the low packing of nanoparticle structures, but does not change the morphological behaviour of the system. We also report the formation of the system spanning sheet-like arrangement of nanoparticles which are arranged in alternate layers of matrix polymers and nanoparticles.