Figure 2. Characterization of the formation of the stereocomplex spherical micelles from the homochiral polymers 1 and 2.

Studies conducted in THF/H₂O (20/80 v/v) at 65 °C as a function of time. (a) Cartoon illustration of the formation of stereocomplex spherical micelles from 1 and 2. (b) FT-IR spectra of dried nanoparticles revealed that the wavenumber of carbonyl vibrational stretch of polylactide shifted from 1,758 to 1,750 cm⁻¹ over time. TEM images: (c) 3 h after starting the self-assembly; (d) after 5 h; (e) after 10 h; (f) after 20 h and (g) after 30 h. (h) WAXD diffractograms showed that the Bragg peak for stereocomplex formation between 1 and 2 increased over time. Cylindrical micelles obtained from the homochiral diblock copolymers 1 or 2 were found to decrease in length during the self-assembly (c–g). TEM samples were prepared by slow drying and negatively stained using PTA. Scale bars=500 nm.