1
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Xie J, Shi AC. Phase Behavior of Binary Blends of Diblock Copolymers: Progress and Opportunities. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023; 39:11491-11509. [PMID: 37535849 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c01175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
The phase behavior of binary blends of diblock copolymers has been examined extensively in the past decades. Experimental and theoretical studies have demonstrated that mixing two different block copolymers provides an efficient and versatile route to regulate their self-assembled morphologies. A good understanding of the principles governing the self-assembly of block copolymer blends has been obtained from the study of A1B1/A2B2 diblock copolymer blends. The second (A2B2) diblocks could act synergistically as fillers and cosurfactants to regulate the domain size and interfacial properties, resulting in the formation of ordered phases not found in the parent (A1B1 or A2B2) diblock copolymer melts. The study of A1B1/A2B2 block copolymer blends further provides a solid foundation for future research on more complex block copolymer blends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayu Xie
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada
| | - An-Chang Shi
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada
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2
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Park SJ, Bates FS, Dorfman KD. Complex Phase Behavior in Binary Blends of AB Diblock Copolymer and ABC Triblock Terpolymer. Macromolecules 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c02216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- So Jung Park
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota─Twin Cities, 421 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Frank S. Bates
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota─Twin Cities, 421 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Kevin D. Dorfman
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota─Twin Cities, 421 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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3
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He W, Wang F, Qiang Y, Pan Y, Li W, Liu M. Asymmetric Binary Spherical Phases Self-Assembled by Mixing AB Diblock/ABC Triblock Copolymers. Macromolecules 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c02217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Wangping He
- Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Surface & Interface Science of Polymer Materials of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Feng Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Surface & Interface Science of Polymer Materials of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Yicheng Qiang
- Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Yuchao Pan
- Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Surface & Interface Science of Polymer Materials of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Weihua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Meijiao Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Key Laboratory of Surface & Interface Science of Polymer Materials of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
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4
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Wu H, Huang H, Zhang Y, Lu X, Majewski PW, Feng X. Stabilizing Differential Interfacial Curvatures by Mismatched Molecular Geometries: Toward Polymers with Percolating 1 nm Channels of Gyroid Minimal Surfaces. ACS NANO 2022; 16:21139-21151. [PMID: 36516967 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c09103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Soft materials with self-assembled networks possess saddle-shaped interfaces with distributed negative Gaussian curvatures. The ability to stabilize such a geometry is critically important for various applications but can be challenging due to the possibly "deficient" packing of the building blocks. This nontrivial challenge has been manifested, for example, by the limited availability of cross-linkable bicontinuous cubic (Q) liquid crystals (LCs), which can be utilized to fabricate compelling polymers with networked nanochannels uniformly sized at ∼1 nm. Here, we devise a facile approach to stabilizing cross-linkable Q mesophases by leveraging the synergistic self-assembly from pairs of scalably synthesized polymerizable amphiphiles. Hybridization of the molecular geometries by mixing significantly increases the propensity of the local deviations in the interfacial curvature specifically required for Q assemblies. "Normal" (type 1) double gyroid LCs possessing 1 nm ionic channels conforming to minimal surfaces can be formulated by simultaneous hydration of the amphiphile mixtures, as opposed to the formation of hexagonal or lamellar mesophases exhibited by the single-amphiphile systems, respectively. Fixation of the bicontinuous network in polymers via radical polymerization has been efficaciously facilitated by the presence of the bifunctional polymerizable groups in one of the employed amphiphiles. High-fidelity lock-in of the ordered continuous 1 nm channels has been unambiguously confirmed by the observation of single-crystal-like diffraction patterns from synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering and large-area periodicities by transmission electron microscopy. The produced polymeric materials exhibit the required mechanical integrity as well as chemical robustness in a variety of organic solvents that benefit their practical applications for selective transport of ions and molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanyu Wu
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Center for Advanced Low-Dimension Materials, and College of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai201620, People's Repubic of China
| | - Hairui Huang
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Center for Advanced Low-Dimension Materials, and College of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai201620, People's Repubic of China
| | - Yizhou Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Organic Compound Pollution Control Engineering, Ministry of Education, and School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai200444, People's Repubic of China
| | - Xinglin Lu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui230026, People's Repubic of China
| | - Pawel W Majewski
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Warsaw02089, Poland
| | - Xunda Feng
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Center for Advanced Low-Dimension Materials, and College of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai201620, People's Repubic of China
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5
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Zhang L, Yang J, Li W. Emergence of Multi-strand Helices from the Self-Assembly of AB-Type Multiblock Copolymer under Cylindrical Confinement. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lixun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Junying Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Weihua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
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6
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Park J, Winey KI. Double Gyroid Morphologies in Precise Ion-Containing Multiblock Copolymers Synthesized via Step-Growth Polymerization. JACS AU 2022; 2:1769-1780. [PMID: 36032527 PMCID: PMC9400044 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.2c00254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The double gyroid structure was first reported in diblock copolymers about 30 years ago, and the complexity of this morphology relative to the other ordered morphologies in block copolymers continues to fascinate the soft matter community. The double gyroid microphase-separated morphology has co-continuous domains of both species, and the minority phase is subdivided into two interpenetrating network structures. In addition to diblock copolymers, this structure has been reported in similar systems including diblock copolymers blended with one or two homopolymers and ABA-type triblock copolymers. Given the narrow composition region over which the double gyroid structure is typically observed (∼3 vol %), anionic polymerization has dominated the synthesis of block copolymers to control their composition and molecular weight. This perspective will highlight recent studies that (1) employ an alternative polymerization method to make block copolymers and (2) report double gyroid structures with lattice parameters below 10 nm. Specifically, step-growth polymerization linked precise polyethylene blocks and short sulfonate-containing blocks to form strictly alternating multiblock copolymers, and these copolymers produce the double gyroid structure over a dramatically wider composition range (>14 vol %). These new (AB) n multiblock copolymers self-assemble into the double gyroid structure by having exceptional control over the polymer architecture and large interaction parameters between the blocks. This perspective proposes criteria for a broader and synthetically more accessible range of polymers that self-assemble into double gyroids and other ordered structures, so that these remarkable structures can be employed to solve a variety of technological challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinseok Park
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, University
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Karen I. Winey
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, University
of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
- Department
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
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7
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Shen Z, Luo K, Park SJ, Li D, Mahanthappa MK, Bates FS, Dorfman KD, Lodge TP, Siepmann JI. Stabilizing a Double Gyroid Network Phase with 2 nm Feature Size by Blending of Lamellar and Cylindrical Forming Block Oligomers. JACS AU 2022; 2:1405-1416. [PMID: 35783180 PMCID: PMC9241014 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.2c00101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations are used to study binary blends of an AB-type diblock and an AB2-type miktoarm triblock amphiphiles (also known as high-χ block oligomers) consisting of sugar-based (A) and hydrocarbon (B) blocks. In their pure form, the AB diblock and AB2 triblock amphiphiles self-assemble into ordered lamellar (LAM) and cylindrical (CYL) structures, respectively. At intermediate compositions, however, the AB2-rich blend (0.2 ≤ x AB ≤ 0.4) forms a double gyroid (DG) network, whereas perforated lamellae (PL) are observed in the AB-rich blend (0.5 ≤ x AB ≤ 0.8). All of the ordered mesophases present domain pitches under 3 nm, with 1 nm feature sizes for the polar domains. Structural analyses reveal that the nonuniform interfacial curvatures of DG and PL structures are supported by local composition variations of the LAM- and CYL-forming amphiphiles. Self-consistent mean field theory calculations for blends of related AB and AB2 block polymers also show the DG network at intermediate compositions, when A is the minority block, but PL is not stable. This work provides molecular-level insights into how blending of shape-filling molecular architectures enables network phase formation with extremely small feature sizes over a wide composition range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengyuan Shen
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0132, United States
- Chemical
Theory Center, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0431, United States
| | - Ke Luo
- Chemical
Theory Center, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0431, United States
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0431, United States
| | - So Jung Park
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0132, United States
| | - Daoyuan Li
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0132, United States
- Chemical
Theory Center, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0431, United States
| | - Mahesh K. Mahanthappa
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0132, United States
| | - Frank S. Bates
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0132, United States
| | - Kevin D. Dorfman
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0132, United States
| | - Timothy P. Lodge
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0132, United States
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0431, United States
| | - J. Ilja Siepmann
- Department
of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0132, United States
- Chemical
Theory Center, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0431, United States
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0431, United States
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8
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Reddy A, Dimitriyev MS, Grason GM. Medial packing and elastic asymmetry stabilize the double-gyroid in block copolymers. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2629. [PMID: 35552400 PMCID: PMC9098509 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30343-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Triply-periodic networks are among the most complex and functionally valuable self-assembled morphologies, yet they form in nearly every class of biological and synthetic soft matter building blocks. In contrast to simpler assembly motifs – spheres, cylinders, layers – networks require molecules to occupy variable local environments, confounding attempts to understand their formation. Here, we examine the double-gyroid network phase by using a geometric formulation of the strong stretching theory of block copolymer melts, a prototypical soft self-assembly system. The theory establishes the direct link between molecular packing, assembly thermodynamics and the medial map, a generic measure of the geometric center of complex shapes. We show that “medial packing” is essential for stability of double-gyroid in strongly-segregated melts, reconciling a long-standing contradiction between infinite- and finite-segregation theories. Additionally, we find a previously unrecognized non-monotonic dependence of network stability on the relative entropic elastic stiffness of matrix-forming to tubular-network forming blocks. The composition window of stable double-gyroid widens for both large and small elastic asymmetry, contradicting intuitive notions that packing frustration is localized to the tubular domains. This study demonstrates the utility of optimized medial tessellations for understanding soft-molecular assembly and packing frustration via an approach that is readily generalizable far beyond gyroids in neat block copolymers. Double-gyroid networks assemble in diverse soft materials, yet the molecular packing that underlies their complex structure remains obscure. Here, authors advance a theory that resolves a long-standing puzzle about their formation in block copolymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhiram Reddy
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Michael S Dimitriyev
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Gregory M Grason
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA.
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9
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Xie J, Li Y, Shi A. Binary Blends of Diblock Copolymers: An Efficient Route to Complex Spherical Packing Phases. MACROMOL THEOR SIMUL 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/mats.202100053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jiayu Xie
- Department of Physics and Astronomy McMaster University 1280 Main Street West Hamilton Ontario L8S 4M1 Canada
| | - Yu Li
- Department of Physics and Astronomy McMaster University 1280 Main Street West Hamilton Ontario L8S 4M1 Canada
| | - An‐Chang Shi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy McMaster University 1280 Main Street West Hamilton Ontario L8S 4M1 Canada
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