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Christian Hils, Joachim Schmelz, Markus Drechsler and Holger Schmalz

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.1c08076

Surface-compartmentalized micellar nanostructures (Janus and patchy micelles) have gained increasing interest due to their unique properties opening highly relevant applications, e.g., as efficient particulate surfactants, compatibilizers in polymer blends, or templates for catalytically active nanoparticles. We present a facile method for the production of worm-like Janus micelles based on crystallization-driven self-assembly of a double crystalline triblock terpolymer with a crystallizable polyethylene middle block and two highly incompatible corona blocks, polystyrene and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). This approach enables the production of amphiphilic Janus micelles with excellent interfacial activity by a comparably simple heating and cooling protocol directly in solution.