Expanding the scope of the crystallisation-driven self-assembly of polylactone-containing polymers

Aiming at expanding the scope of crystallisation-driven self-assembly with polylactone based copolymers, a number of block copolymers have been synthesised using a combination of reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerisation (RAFT) and ring-opening polymerisation (ROP). As it is fundamental to this work, this chapter briefly describes the main concepts of controlled polymerisations to build synthetic block copolymers. Ring-opening polymerisation of both small ring lactones and macrolactones is then explored, followed by an introduction to synthetic methods for utilising crystalline core-forming blocks. Methods for solution self-assembly are then summarised to compare their different characteristics. Crystallisation-driven self-assembly (CDSA) is then discussed as a key approach for preparing micelles of controlled size and dimension. Furthermore, a few fundamental characterisation techniques are discussed to give some insight into understanding the CDSA of lactone-based polymers