Block copolymers interfaces

Tanaka H. and Nishi T., Study of block copolymer interface by pulsed NMR, J. Chem. Phys., 82, 4326, 1985. 

Keywords Block copolymers, Interface reactive injection moulding, Polyamide degradation, Polyolefine polyamide graft copolymers, PTFE polyamide materials... 

Yang, J., Winnik, M. A., The Orientation Parameter for Energy Transfer in Restricted Geometries Including Block Copolymer Interfaces a Monte Carlo Study, J. Phys. Chem. B 2005, 109, 18408 18417. 

Tcherkasskaya O, Spiro JG, Ni SR, Winnik MA (1996) Energy transfer in restricted geometry polyisoprene-poly(methyl methacrylate) block copolymer interfaces. J Phys Chem 100 (17) 7114-7121. doi 10.1021/jp9522021... 

The main experimental techniques used to study the failure processes at the scale of a chain have involved the use of deuterated polymers, particularly copolymers, at the interface and the measurement of the amounts of the deuterated copolymers at each of the fracture surfaces. The presence and quantity of the deuterated copolymer has typically been measured using forward recoil ion scattering (FRES) or secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The technique was originally used in a study of the effects of placing polystyrene-polymethyl methacrylate (PS-PMMA) block copolymers of total molecular weight of 200,000 Da at an interface between polyphenylene ether (PPE or PPO) and PMMA copolymers [1]. The PS block is miscible in the PPE. The use of copolymers where just the PS block was deuterated and copolymers where just the PMMA block was deuterated showed that, when the interface was fractured, the copolymer molecules all broke close to their junction points The basic idea of this technique is shown in Fig, I. 

Fig. I. Block copolymers tend to organise at an interface so that the two blocks, shown here as solid and dashed lines, are on either side of the interface. If one of the blocks is deuterated then chain pull-out can be distinguished from chain scission by the location of the deuterium on the fracture surface.

Creton, C., Kramer, E.J., Hui, C.-Y. and Brown, H.R., Failure mechanisms of polymer interfaces reinforced with block copolymers. Macromolecules, 25, 3075-3088 (1992). Boucher et al., E., Effects of the formation of copolymer on the interfacial adhesion between semicrystalline polymers. Macromolecules, 29, 774-782 (1996). 

As with block copolymers, the important parameters are the surface density and length of the copolymer chains. Toughening of the interface may occurs as a result of pull-out or scission of the connector chains, or of fibril or craze formation in matrix. This last mechanism gives the highest fracture toughness, F, and tends to occur at high surface density of chains. 

Compatibility and various other properties such as morphology, crystalline behavior, structure, mechanical properties of natural rubber-polyethylene blends were investigated by Qin et al. [39]. Polyethylene-b-polyiso-prene acts as a successful compatibilizer here. Mechanical properties of the blends were improved upon the addition of the block copolymer (Table 12). The copolymer locates at the interface, and, thus, reduces the interfacial tension that is reflected in the mechanical properties. As the amount of graft copolymer increases, tensile strength and elongation at break increase and reach a leveling off. 

Addition of poly(styrene-block-butadiene) block copolymer to the polystyrene-polybutadiene-styrene ternary system first showed a characteristic decrease in interfacial tension followed by a leveling off. The leveling off is indicative of saturation of the interface by the solubilizing agent. 

Highly branched polymers, polymer adsorption and the mesophases of block copolymers may seem weakly connected subjects. However, in this review we bring out some important common features related to the tethering experienced by the polymer chains in all of these structures. Tethered polymer chains, in our parlance, are chains attached to a point, a line, a surface or an interface by their ends. In this view, one may think of the arms of a star polymer as chains tethered to a point [1], or of polymerized macromonomers as chains tethered to a line [2-4]. Adsorption or grafting of end-functionalized polymers to a surface exemplifies a tethered surface layer [5] (a polymer brush ), whereas block copolymers straddling phase boundaries give rise to chains tethered to an interface [6],... 

The Alexander approach can also be applied to discover useful information in melts, such as the block copolymer microphases of Fig. 1D. In this situation the density of chains tethered to the interface is not arbitrary but is dictated by the equilibrium condition of the self-assembly process. In a melt, the chains must fill space at constant density within a single microphase and, in the case of block copolymers, minimize contacts between unlike monomers. A sharp interface results in this limit. The interaction energy per chain can then be related to the energy of this interface and written rather simply as Fin, = ykT(N/Lg), where ykT is the interfacial energy per unit area, q is the number density of chain segments and the term in parentheses is the reciprocal of the number of chains per unit area [49, 50]. The total energy per chain is then ... 

AB diblock copolymers in the presence of a selective surface can form an adsorbed layer, which is a planar form of aggregation or self-assembly. This is very useful in the manipulation of the surface properties of solid surfaces, especially those that are employed in liquid media. Several situations have been studied both theoretically and experimentally, among them the case of a selective surface but a nonselective solvent [75] which results in swelling of both the anchor and the buoy layers. However, we concentrate on the situation most closely related to the micelle conditions just discussed, namely, adsorption from a selective solvent. Our theoretical discussion is adapted and abbreviated from that of Marques et al. [76], who considered many features not discussed here. They began their analysis from the grand canonical free energy of a block copolymer layer in equilibrium with a reservoir containing soluble block copolymer at chemical potential peK. They also considered the possible effects of micellization in solution on the adsorption process [61]. We assume in this presentation that the anchor layer is in a solvent-free, melt state above Tg. The anchor layer is assumed to be thin and smooth, with a sharp interface between it and the solvent swollen buoy layer. 

Experimentally, the stretching of block copolymer chains has been addressed in two ways by measuring L as a function of N, and by measuring the components of Rg of the block chains both parallel and perpendicular to the interface. The domain dimensions have been studied most extensively for styrene-isoprene and styrene-butadiene block copolymers X-ray and neutron scattering are the methods of choice. The predicted SSL scaling of L N2/3 has been reported for spheres, cylinders and lamellae [99,102-106], but not in all cases. For example, Bates et al. found N0 37 for styrene-butadiene spheres [100], and Hadziioannou and Skoulios observed N0 79 for styrene-isoprene lamellae [107], In the sphere case, kinetic limitations to equilibration were felt to be an important factor [100],... 

Fig. 10. Various stages in the expulsion of a chain that has been tethered to an interface. Left Block copolymer straddling interface. Center Initiation of expulsion process. Right Chain partially expelled, and therefore partially relaxed from the deformation induced by tethering...

Since it involves two incompatible polymers, the mixture is heterogeneous at the beginning, but as block copolymer is formed, it progressively becomes homogeneous. It is remarkable that the reaction is quite fast although it takes place at the interface. 

Neagu, C., Puskas, J.E., Singh, M.A., and Natansohn, A. Domain sizes and interface thickness determination for styrene-isobutylene block copolymer systems using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Macromolecules, 33, 5976-5981, 2000. 

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