Self‐assembly of gemini amphiphiles with symmetric tails in selective solvent

Gemini amphiphile is a special type of block copolymers formed by connecting two traditional diblock molecules at hydrophilic head groups through spacers. The special structure makes gemini amphiphiles potentially promising for drug delivery and gene delivery. The self-assembly behavior of gemini amphiphiles with tails of equal length in selective solvent was investigated using the dissipative particle dynamics method. The effects of the size of the hydrophilic head group, interaction parameters, concentration and hydrophobic tail chain length on the self-assembled morphology of gemini amphiphiles were examined. By varying these parameters, worm-like micelles, large compound micelles, vesicles, hierarchical rod-like micelles, cylindrical bundles, pomegranate-like micelles and bilayers were obtained. Compared with conventional diblock copolymers, the dominant feature of gemini amphiphiles is the presence of the spacer. By analyzing the distance between two head groups, we explored in depth the influence of spacer length on the self-assembly of gemini amphiphile molecules. Through simulation probes, we hope to improve the understanding of ordered aggregates of gemini amphiphiles in selective solvent, to reveal theoretically the pattern variation of aggregation morphology and to provide guidance for their practical application. © 2022 Society of Industrial Chemistry.