Giant Hexagonal Superstructures in Diblock-Copolymer Membranes

Abstract
We have observed polymersomes of high genus with their vesicle wall organized on the micrometer scale either in a double bilayer connected by a lattice of passages or a tubular network with hexagonal symmetry. Experimentally found shape classes are identified within a theoretical phase diagram based on the bending energy of the polymer membrane. Pronounced morphological changes could be induced and controlled by temperature.