Diblock copolymer microphase separation

Figure 7.24 (and on cover) from Groot R D and T J Madden 1998. Dynamic simulation of diblock copolymer microphase separation. The Journal of Chemical Physics 108 8713-8724. Americcm Institute of Physics. 

Croot R D and T J Madden 1998. Dynamic Simulation of Diblock Copolymer Microphase Separation. 

Groot RD, Madden TJ. Dynamic simulation of diblock copolymer microphase separation. J Chem Phys 1998 108 8713. 

Symmetric diblock copolymers microphase separate, in the bulk, into lamellar microdomains, which are alternating microdomains of the two blocks where the junction points between the blocks are preferentially located at the interface between the microdomains. " So, to a first approximation, each microdomain can be viewed as bmshes of the same block that emanate from adjacent interfaces. The natural period of the lamellar miaodomain, Lq, which is the center-to-center... 

Fig. 9 a Chemical structure of the diblock copolymer and the six-point H-bonding. b Deposition of NPs onto block copolymer microphase separated film, c AFM image indicating the specific deposition of NPs. Reprinted with permission from [56]... 

Ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLC) are of great interest due to their fast electro-optical response which is about 1,000 times faster than conventional twisted nematic cells [131]. The geometry used is called a surface stabilized FLC cell which utilizes a very thin gap (=2 pm) to unwind the FLC supramolecular pitch (=1-2 pm) since the bulk FLC materials do not show macroscopic polarization. This very thin gap, however, leads to difficulties in manufacturing large panels and very poor shock resistance. Researchers have proposed the concept of microphase stabilized FLC [79,109, 130] using FLC-coil diblock copolymers for electro-optical applications as shown in Fig. 15. This concept takes advantage of ferroelectric liquid crystallinity and block copolymer microphase separation since the block... 

Block (Star) Arrangement. The known star polymers, like their linear counterparts, exhibit microphase separation. In general, they exhibit higher viscosities in the melt than their analogous linear materials. Their rheological behavior is reminiscent of network materials rather than linear block copolymers (58). Although they have been used as compatibiUzers in polymer blends, they are not as effective at property enhancements as linear diblocks... 

It is well known that block copolymers and graft copolymers composed of incompatible sequences form the self-assemblies (the microphase separations). These morphologies of the microphase separation are governed by Molau s law [1] in the solid state. Nowadays, not only the three basic morphologies but also novel morphologies, such as ordered bicontinuous double diamond structure, are reported [2-6]. The applications of the microphase separation are also investigated [7-12]. As one of the applications of the microphase separation of AB diblock copolymers, it is possible to synthesize coreshell type polymer microspheres upon crosslinking the spherical microdomains [13-16]. 

LeiblerL., Theory of microphase separation in block copolymers. Macromolecules, 13, 1602, 1980. Eoerster S., Khandpur A.K., Zhao J., Bates E.S., Hamley I.W., Ryan A.J., and Bras W. Complex phase behavior of polyisoprene-polystyrene diblock copolymers near the order-disorder transition. Macromolecules, 21, 6922, 1994. 

The formation of nanopattemed functional surfaces is a recent topic in nanotechnology. As is widely known, diblock copolymers, which consist of two different types of polymer chains cormected by a chemical bond, have a wide variety of microphase separation structures, such as spheres, cylinders, and lamellae, on the nanoscale, and are expected to be new functional materials with nanostructures. Further modification of the nanostructures is also useful for obtaining new functional materials. In addition, utilization of nanopartides of an organic dye is also a topic of interest in nanotechnology. 

Secondly, we describe the site-selective introduction of a functional molecule, tetrakis-5,10,15,20-(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP), into the microphase separation structure of a diblock copolymer film of PS-fo-P4VP. Since porphyrin derivatives show various functionalities such as sensitization, redox activity, and nonlinear optical effect, a polymer nanodot array containing a porphyrin at a high concentration would be applicable to a light-harvesing and charge transporting nanochannel. 

As aforementioned, diblock copolymer films have a wide variety of nanosized microphase separation structures such as spheres, cylinders, and lamellae. As described in the above subsection, photofunctional chromophores were able to be doped site-selectively into the nanoscale microdomain structures of the diblock copolymer films, resulting in nanoscale surface morphological change of the doped films. The further modification of the nanostructures is useful for obtaining new functional materials. Hence, in order to create further surface morphological change of the nanoscale microdomain structures, dopant-induced laser ablation is applied to the site-selectively doped diblock polymer films. 

Triblock terpolymers PS-b-PBd-b-P2VP and PBd-b-PS-b-P2VP, where PBd is polybutadiene (mostly 1,2-PBd), were prepared in order to study the microphase separation by transmission electron microscopy, TEM and SAXS. In the first case the triblocks were synthesized by the sequential addition of monomers in THF using s-BuLi as the initiator [26]. For the second type of copolymers, living PBd-b-PS diblocks were prepared in benzene at 40 °C in the presence of a small quantity of THF in order to obtain the desired 1,2-content and to accelerate the crossover reaction as well. DPE was then added to decrease the nucleophilicity of the active centers in order to avoid side reactions with the THF, which in combination with benzene was the solvent of the final step. 

The viscoelastic effects on the morphology and dynamics of microphase separation of diblock copolymers was simulated by Huo et al. [ 126] based on Tanaka s viscoelastic model [127] in the presence and absence of additional thermal noise. Their results indicate that for

bulk modulus of both blocks, the area fraction of the A-rich phase remains constant during the microphase separation process. For each block randomly oriented lamellae are preferred. 

As a final example of catalytic hydrogenation activity with polymer-stabilized colloids, the studies of Cohen et al. should be mentioned [53]. Palladium nanoclusters were synthesized within microphase-separated diblock copolymer films. The organometallic repeat-units contained in the polymer were reduced by exposing the films to hydrogen at 100 °C, leading to the formation of nearly monodisperse Pd nanoclusters that were active in the gas phase hydrogenation of butadiene. 

Homogeneous melt, Todt < Tc > Tg. In diblock copolymers exhibiting homogeneous melts, microphase separation is driven by crystallization if Tg of the amorphous block is lower than Tc of the crystallizable block. This generally results in a lamellar morphology where crystalline lamellae are sandwiched by the amorphous block layers and spherulite formation can be observed depending on the composition [6-10]. 

Calorimetric measurements and morphological observations showed that PS-fr-PCL, PB-fr-PCL and PS-fc-PB-fc-PCL copolymers exhibit microphase separation and crystallization if the molecular weight is high enough. Only in PS-fc-PCL diblock copolymers, a shift of the PS glass transition to lower temperatures has been observed. In PS-fo-PB-fo-PCL, the crystallizable block (i.e., PCL) is covalently linked to a rubbery block and it has a free end. For these reasons there is no significant reduction in the melting temperature and... 

Similar to the branches in copolymer stars and miktoarms, the grafted chains in brushes can be of different chemical compositions. Brown et al. [223] studied the microphase separation of grafted mixtures of homopolymer chains composed of immiscible A and B units and also [224] of diblock AB copolymers. In the former case, the brushes expand laterally and then experience lateral microphase separation. In the latter case, however, monomers segregate vertically to the surface forming a three layer structure. 

Then we address the dynamics of diblock copolymer melts. There we discuss the single chain dynamics, the collective dynamics as well as the dynamics of the interfaces in microphase separated systems. The next degree of complication is reached when we discuss the dynamic of gels (Chap. 6.3) and that of polymer aggregates like micelles or polymers with complex architecture such as stars and dendrimers. Chapter 6.5 addresses the first measurements on a rubbery electrolyte. Some new results on polymer solutions are discussed in Chap. 6.6 with particular emphasis on theta solvents and hydrodynamic screening. Chapter 6.7 finally addresses experiments that have been performed on biological macromolecules. 

This diblock copolymer does not undergo the order-disorder microphase separation the peak stays broad above 373 K, where the system is in the mean... 

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