ИСТИНА

In recent years, polymer micro- and nanogels attract a lot of attention for multiple reasons. At first, the unique properties of these objects are obtained. Microgels are able to form stable aggregates of microparticles, each of which is an independent single macromolecule, At the same time, these particles represent well-known microscopic objects with environment-controllable size and properties. It offers a challenge of developing a new functional materials: super adsorbents, stabilizing surface-active additives, drug carriers, and photonic crystals. In this work, we suggest the idea microphase separated interpenetrating network microgels. Such microgels are based on two interpenetrating networks in a solvent, which is good solvent for one network and poor solvent for another one. We used dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) to simulate this type of system. The initial networks were diamond-shaped interpenetrating networks with varying subchain length and amount of subchains in each network. Then the simulation box was filled with solvent which is above the theta-point for one network and far beyond the theta-point for the second one, and the simulations were done with repulsion and bond properties granting absence of phantom behaviour of the subchains. The systems after relaxation show three types of microphase separated structures. When the network size to subchain length is too small, the poor solvent network collapses into one dense blob with soft corona of the second network outside it (see Figure a). At the intermediate network size to subchain length ratios, the dense shell with soft core is formed, with loose corona surrounding it (see Figure b). With further enlargement of the system, the dense nucleus is formed into the soft core (see Figure c).