Double hydrophilic block copolymers with switchable secondary structure as additives for crystallization control

The synthesis and folding behavior of two different series of double hydrophilic block copolymers based on polyethyleneglycol and short acidic polypeptide blocks are described. The employment of those species in the crystallization of CaCO3 and BaSO4 shows that in contrast to the expectations from biomineral examples, a random conformation of the peptide is more advantageous in mineralization control than an α-helical arrangement of the same chain, which is contradictory to the epitaxial adsorption model in biomineralization. Otherwise, the peptide block copolymers support formation of superstructures similar to those already reported, e.g. well-defined spherical, prolate, and dumbbell morphologies are found.