Synergistic Impact of Intra- and Interchain Dispersity on Block Copolymer Self-AssemblyClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
- Jinbin LiJinbin LiSouth China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, ChinaMore by Jinbin Li
- Jiayu XieJiayu XieDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, CanadaMore by Jiayu Xie
- Zhanhui GanZhanhui GanSouth China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional and Intelligent Hybrid Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, ChinaMore by Zhanhui Gan
- Zhuang MaZhuang MaSouth China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, ChinaMore by Zhuang Ma
- An-Chang Shi*An-Chang Shi*Email: [email protected]Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, CanadaMore by An-Chang Shi
- Xue-Hui Dong*Xue-Hui Dong*Email: [email protected]South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional and Intelligent Hybrid Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, ChinaGuangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Energy and Information Polymer Materials, Guangzhou 510640, ChinaMore by Xue-Hui Dong
Abstract
The effect of chain length dispersity on self-assembly behaviors of block copolymers was quantitatively investigated. Two sets of binary blends with precisely controlled compositions were prepared by mixing A-homopolymers into AB2 linear-branched block copolymers, where the two B branches were of either equal or unequal lengths. The added A-homopolymers swell the corona A domain, resulting in a generic phase transition sequence as the volume fraction varies. The distribution of the A-homopolymers depends critically on their length relative to that of the A-block of the copolymers. Longer homopolymers tend to localize at the vertices of the Voronoi cells, while shorter ones distribute more evenly in the corona domain. While blends consisting of A-homopolymers and symmetric linear-branched block copolymers exhibit exclusively the cylindrical phase, the addition of A-homopolymers to asymmetric counterparts leads to a richer array of ordered structures, including the Frank–Kasper phases, quasicrystalline phases, and the hexagonally close-packed phase. The combination of architectural asymmetry in the core (intrachain dispersity) and the presence of A-homopolymers in the corona (interchain dispersity) synergistically stabilizes these exotic structures, which could not be achieved when these two effects were present individually.
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