Assembly ordered block copolymers with

The properties of ordered structures in block copolymer melts have yet to be fully exploited, but the structural and rheological anisotropy is likely to lead to applications not all of which can be envisaged yet. The precision self-assembly of block copolymers into ordered structures for thin film and interfacial applications has enormous potential. Other applications such as nanoscale templates, membranes and filters could exploit the self-assembly of block copolymers into domains with periods 10-100 nm. The possibilities are limited only by the molecular engineer s imagination. 

The coupled nanostructures should be useful for further or tier-11 assembly of block copolymers. The super-surfactants of Fig. 22a may, for example, self-assemble like surfactant molecules to form supermicelles with structural order at several length scales. Studies of the self-assembly of the nanotube di-and tri-blocks with structure similar to di- and tri-block copolymers should be of interest as well. 

A brief inspection of Fig. 5 reveals that these supramolecular structures could be similar to those self-assembled from block copolymers. Two major differences exist between self-assembling dendrons and block copolymers. First, all structures in Fig. 4 are generated from the same chemical composition but different primary structure, including constitutional isomeric primary structures, and secmid, they exhibit intramolecular order. Block copolymers provide micellar morphologies with different stractures determined by different ratios between their dissimilar segments. 

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