Crystalline Nanoflowers Derived from the Intramolecular Cyclization-Induced Self-Assembly of an Amorphous Poly(amic acid) at High Solid Content

The investigation of the amorphous to crystalline transformation and the corresponding influence on the self-assembly behavior of amphiphilic polymers are of significant interest in this field. Herein, we propose the concept of intramolecular cyclization-induced self-assembly (ICISA) to prepare crystalline nanoflowers at a high solid content of 15% on the basis of the amorphous to crystalline transformation of poly(amic acid) (PAA). Taking advantage of the reactive property of the PAA, rigid and crystalline polyimide (PI) segments are introduced to the backbone of the PAA to give P(AA-