1
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Singh J, Gupta S, Chokshi P. Confinement-induced self-assembly of a diblock copolymer within a non-uniform cylindrical nanopore. SOFT MATTER 2024; 20:1543-1553. [PMID: 38268494 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm01348k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
The self-assembly of a diblock copolymer melt confined within a non-uniform cylindrical nanopore is studied using the self-consistent field theory. The non-uniformity manifests in the form of a converging-diverging cylindrical nanopore. The axial variation in pore diameter presents a range of curvatures within the same confinement pore as opposed to a single curvature in a uniform-diameter cylindrical pore. The introduction of multiple curvatures leads to the formation of novel microstructures not accessible in uniform cylindrical confinement. The well-known equilibrium structures like a single helix, double helices, and concentric lamella under cylindrical confinement transition into new morphologies such as hyperboloidal phases, microstructures containing rings with a bead, rings with spheres, and a squeezed helical phase as the pore diameter varies axially. The converging-diverging geometry of the confining pore renders the helical phases seen in the cylindrical pore less favorable. A phase diagram in the parametric space of the block fraction and the ratio of the smallest and largest pore radii has been constructed to depict the order-order transition of various microstructures. The ratio of radii, a measure of the non-uniformity of the pore, along with the pore length brings out some interesting morphologies. The mechanism of these structural transitions is understood as the interplay between the variation in pore curvature attributed to the non-uniformity, the spontaneous curvature of the block copolymer interface, and the enthalpic interaction between the segregated blocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jagat Singh
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110 016, India.
| | - Supriya Gupta
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110 016, India.
| | - Paresh Chokshi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110 016, India.
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2
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Procházka K, Limpouchová Z, Štěpánek M, Šindelka K, Lísal M. DPD Modelling of the Self- and Co-Assembly of Polymers and Polyelectrolytes in Aqueous Media: Impact on Polymer Science. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:404. [PMID: 35160394 PMCID: PMC8838752 DOI: 10.3390/polym14030404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
This review article is addressed to a broad community of polymer scientists. We outline and analyse the fundamentals of the dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation method from the point of view of polymer physics and review the articles on polymer systems published in approximately the last two decades, focusing on their impact on macromolecular science. Special attention is devoted to polymer and polyelectrolyte self- and co-assembly and self-organisation and to the problems connected with the implementation of explicit electrostatics in DPD numerical machinery. Critical analysis of the results of a number of successful DPD studies of complex polymer systems published recently documents the importance and suitability of this coarse-grained method for studying polymer systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karel Procházka
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (Z.L.); (M.Š.)
| | - Zuzana Limpouchová
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (Z.L.); (M.Š.)
| | - Miroslav Štěpánek
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (Z.L.); (M.Š.)
| | - Karel Šindelka
- Department of Molecular and Mesoscopic Modelling, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Czech Academy of Sciences, Rozvojová 135, 165 02 Prague, Czech Republic; (K.Š.); (M.L.)
| | - Martin Lísal
- Department of Molecular and Mesoscopic Modelling, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Czech Academy of Sciences, Rozvojová 135, 165 02 Prague, Czech Republic; (K.Š.); (M.L.)
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Pasteurova 3632, 400 96 Ústí n. Labem, Czech Republic
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3
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Mahalik JP, Li W, Savici AT, Hahn S, Lauter H, Ambaye H, Sumpter BG, Lauter V, Kumar R. Dispersity-Driven Stabilization of Coexisting Morphologies in Asymmetric Diblock Copolymer Thin Films. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jyoti P. Mahalik
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
- Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37916, United States
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002, United States
| | - Wei Li
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
- Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37916, United States
| | - Andrei T. Savici
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Steven Hahn
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Hans Lauter
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Haile Ambaye
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Bobby G. Sumpter
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
- Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Valeria Lauter
- Neutron Scattering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Rajeev Kumar
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
- Computational Sciences and Engineering Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
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4
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Ji S, Zhang R, Zhang L, Yuan Y, Lin J. Self‐assembled nanostructures of diblock copolymer films under homopolymer topcoats. POLYM INT 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/pi.6009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Ji
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of EducationSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai China
| | - Runrong Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of EducationSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai China
| | - Liangshun Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of EducationSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai China
| | - Yuan Yuan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of EducationSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai China
| | - Jiaping Lin
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of EducationSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology Shanghai China
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5
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Lin B, Zheng C, Zhu Q, Xie F. Surface-induced phase transitions in thin films of dendrimer block copolymers. E-POLYMERS 2020. [DOI: 10.1515/epoly-2020-0009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The phase morphologies and phase transitions of dendrimer block copolymer thin films confined between two homogeneous, planar hard substrates had been investigated by a three-dimensional real space self-consistent field theory (SCFT). From the perspectives of property and strength of the preferential substrate, when the film system confined within neutral substrates, the thinner film was easier to take the undulated and perpendicular cylinder phases. For the attractive preference of the substrate on block segment A, the polymer films tended to take the surface-wetting structures that was composed by block segment A. On the contrary, for the repulsive preference of the substrate on block segment A, a phase transition of cylinder-lamellae could be observed increasing with the relative surface strength of the preferential substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Lin
- School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Huizhou University , Guangdong 516007 , China
- Glorious Sun Guangdong School of Fashion, Huizhou University , Guangdong 516007 , China
| | - Chen Zheng
- School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Huizhou University , Guangdong 516007 , China
- Glorious Sun Guangdong School of Fashion, Huizhou University , Guangdong 516007 , China
| | - Qingying Zhu
- School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Huizhou University , Guangdong 516007 , China
| | - Fang Xie
- School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Huizhou University , Guangdong 516007 , China
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6
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Liu M, Chen K, Li W, Wang X. Tunable helical structures formed by ABC triblock copolymers under cylindrical confinement. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:26333-26341. [PMID: 31782439 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp04978a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Block copolymers confined in nanopores provide unique achiral systems for the formation of helical structures. With AB diblock copolymers, stable single and double helical structures are observed. Aiming to obtain more different helical structures, we replace the AB diblock copolymer with linear ABC triblock copolymers. We speculate that a core-shell superstructure is formed within the nanopore, which is composed of a C-core cylinder wrapped by B-helices within the A-shell. Accordingly, the pore surface is set to be most attractive to the majority A-block and a typical set of interaction parameters is chosen as χACN ≪ χABN = χBCN = 80 to generate the frustrated interfaces. Furthermore, the volume fraction of B-block is fixed as fB = 0.1 to form helical cylinders. A number of helical structures with strands ranging from 1 to 5 are predicted by self-consistent field theory, and in general, the number of strands decreases as the volume fraction of C-block fC increases in a given nanopore. More surprisingly, the variation of helical strand in the confined system has an opposite trend to that in the bulk, which mainly results from the constraint of the cylindrical confinement on the change of the curvature between the outer A-layer and the inner B/C-superdomain. Our work demonstrates a facile way to fabricate different helical superstructures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meijiao Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
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7
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Abate AA, Vu GT, Piqueras CM, del Barrio MC, Gómez LR, Catalini G, Schmid F, Vega DA. Order–Order Phase Transitions Induced by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in Triblock Copolymer Thin Films. Macromolecules 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Giang Thi Vu
- Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Staudinger Weg 7, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | - Friederike Schmid
- Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Staudinger Weg 7, D-55099 Mainz, Germany
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8
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Lakkas AT, Sgouros AP, Theodorou DN. Self-Consistent Field Theory Coupled with Square Gradient Theory of Free Surfaces of Molten Polymers and Compared to Atomistic Simulations and Experiment. Macromolecules 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b00795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- A. T. Lakkas
- School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), GR-15780 Athens, Greece
| | - A. P. Sgouros
- School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), GR-15780 Athens, Greece
| | - D. N. Theodorou
- School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), GR-15780 Athens, Greece
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9
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Shan Y, Wang X, Ji Y, He L, Li S. Self-assembly of phospholipid molecules in solutions under shear flows: Microstructures and phase diagrams. J Chem Phys 2019; 149:244901. [PMID: 30599738 DOI: 10.1063/1.5056229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Shear-induced microstructures and their phase diagrams were investigated for phospholipid molecules in aqueous solution by dissipative particle dynamic simulation. Self-assembled microstructures, including spherical and cylindrical micelles, spherical vesicles, lamellae, undulated lamellae, perforated lamellae, and continuous networks, were observed under various shear flows and phospholipid concentrations, where the spatial inhomogeneity and symmetry were analysed. A series of phase diagrams were constructed based on the chain lengths under various phospholipid concentrations. The phase distributions showed that the structures with spherical symmetry could be shear-induced to structures with cylindrical symmetry in the dilute solutions. In the semi-concentrated solutions, the lamellae were located in most spaces under zero shear flows, which could be shear-induced into undulated lamellae and then into cylindrical micelles. For the concentrated solutions, the strong shear flows oriented the directions of multilayer lamellae and phase transitions appeared between several cylindrical network structures. These observations on shear-induced microstructures and their distributions revealed a promising approach that could be used to design bio-microstructures based on phospholipid molecules under shear flows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Shan
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Xianghong Wang
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Yongyun Ji
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Linli He
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Shiben Li
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
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10
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Chao H, Lindsay BJ, Riggleman RA. Field-Theoretic Simulations of the Distribution of Nanorods in Diblock Copolymer Thin Films. J Phys Chem B 2017; 121:11198-11209. [PMID: 29135257 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b07862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Using block copolymer microphases to guide the self-assembly of nanorods in thin films can give rise to polymeric materials with unique optical, thermal, and mechanical properties beyond those found in neat block copolymers. Often the design and manufacture of these materials require exquisite control of the nanorod distribution, which is experimentally challenging due to the large parameter space spanned by this class of materials. Simulation approaches, on the other hand, can access the thermodynamics that contribute to the nanorod distribution and hence offer valuable guidance toward the design and manufacture of the materials. In this work, we employ complex Langevin field-theoretic simulations to examine the thermodynamic forces that govern the assembly of nanorods in thin films of block copolymers with a particular focus on vertically oriented cylindrical and lamellar domains. Our simulations show that the nanorod geometry, the substrate selectivity for the distinct blocks of the copolymer, and the film thickness all play important roles in engineering both the nanorod orientation and spatial distribution in diblock copolymer thin films. In addition, we employ thermodynamic integration to examine how the nanorods alter the stability of vertical and horizontal domains in thin films, where we find that the tendency of the nanorods to stabilize a vertical orientation depends on both the film thickness and the nanorod concentration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huikuan Chao
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Benjamin J Lindsay
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Robert A Riggleman
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
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11
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Liu X, Zhou C, Xia H, Zhou Y, Jiang W. Dissipative particle dynamics simulation on the self-assembly of linear ABC triblock copolymers under rigid spherical confinements. E-POLYMERS 2017. [DOI: 10.1515/epoly-2016-0306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
AbstractAlthough a great deal of unique nanostructures were already obtained from polymer self-assemblies in terms of conventional parameters, the self-assembly under the confinement is still not well understood. Here, dissipative particle dynamics simulations were used to explore the self-assemble behaviors of linear ABC triblock copolymers under rigid spherical confinements. First several unusual morphologies, such as multilayer onion, coupled helix, and stacked lamella, were distinguished from the total 210 simulations. Second, the influences of three important parameters (block sequence, wall selectivity, and spherical radius) on the morphologies were discussed in detail. Finally, the dynamics evolution of several typical aggregates was examined. This simulation enriches micelle morphologies for the self-assembly of linear ABC triblock copolymers under rigid spherical confinements and is helpful to understand the formation of valuable nanostructures from linear ABC terpolymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqiang Liu
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong 643000, China
| | - Chun Zhou
- Institute of Chemical Materials, Chinese Academy of Engineering and Physics, 621900 Mianyang, China
| | - Honggang Xia
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 116000 Dalian, China
| | - Yang Zhou
- Institute of Chemical Materials, Chinese Academy of Engineering and Physics, 621900 Mianyang, China
| | - Weidong Jiang
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong 643000, China
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12
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Hao J, Wang Z, Wang Z, Yin Y, Jiang R, Li B, Wang Q. Self-Assembly in Block Copolymer Thin Films upon Solvent Evaporation: A Simulation Study. Macromolecules 2017. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.7b00200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jinlong Hao
- School
of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer
Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Zhan Wang
- School
of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer
Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Zheng Wang
- School
of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer
Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Yuhua Yin
- School
of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer
Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Run Jiang
- School
of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer
Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Baohui Li
- School
of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer
Materials of Ministry of Education, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Qiang Wang
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort
Collins, Colorado 80523-1370, United States
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13
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Posselt D, Zhang J, Smilgies DM, Berezkin AV, Potemkin II, Papadakis CM. Restructuring in block copolymer thin films: In situ GISAXS investigations during solvent vapor annealing. Prog Polym Sci 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2016.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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14
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Berezkin AV, Papadakis CM, Potemkin II. Vertical Domain Orientation in Cylinder-Forming Diblock Copolymer Films upon Solvent Vapor Annealing. Macromolecules 2015. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.5b01771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Anatoly V. Berezkin
- Physik-Department,
Physik weicher Materie, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str.
1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Christine M. Papadakis
- Physik-Department,
Physik weicher Materie, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str.
1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Igor I. Potemkin
- Physics
Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119991, Russian Federation
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15
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Chen A, Blakey I, Jack KS, Whittaker AK, Peng H. Control through monomer placement of surface properties and morphology of fluoromethacrylate copolymers. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/pola.27731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ao Chen
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology; The University of Queensland; Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Idriss Blakey
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology; The University of Queensland; Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia
- Centre for Advanced Imaging; The University of Queensland; Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Kevin S. Jack
- Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis; The University of Queensland; Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Andrew K. Whittaker
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology; The University of Queensland; Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia
- Centre for Advanced Imaging; The University of Queensland; Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology
| | - Hui Peng
- Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology; The University of Queensland; Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology
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16
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Phase Behavior of Copolymers Confined in Multi-Walled Nanotubes: Insights from Simulations. Polymers (Basel) 2015. [DOI: 10.3390/polym7010120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
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17
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Ginzburg VV, Weinhold JD, Trefonas P. Computational modeling of block-copolymer directed self-assembly. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.1002/polb.23365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jeffrey D. Weinhold
- The Dow Chemical Company; 2301 N. Brazosport Blvd., Building B1470 Freeport Texas 77541
| | - Peter Trefonas
- Dow Electronic Materials; 455 Forest Street Marlborough Massachusetts 01752
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18
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Li W, Liu M, Qiu F, Shi AC. Phase Diagram of Diblock Copolymers Confined in Thin Films. J Phys Chem B 2013; 117:5280-8. [DOI: 10.1021/jp309546q] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Weihua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular
Engineering of Polymers,
Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Meijiao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular
Engineering of Polymers,
Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Feng Qiu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular
Engineering of Polymers,
Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - An-Chang Shi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4M1
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19
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Xu Y, Xie N, Li W, Qiu F, Shi AC. Phase behaviors and ordering dynamics of diblock copolymer self-assembly directed by lateral hexagonal confinement. J Chem Phys 2012. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4765098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yuci Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Nan Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Weihua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Feng Qiu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
- Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences, Ministry of Education of China, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - An-Chang Shi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada
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20
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Harrach MF, Heckmann M, Drossel B. Strong stretching theory for diblock copolymers in thin films under application of electric fields. J Chem Phys 2012; 137:044908. [DOI: 10.1063/1.4738594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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21
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Lo CT, Lee B, Gao MW, Chou PW. Ordering of block copolymer/nanoparticle composite thin films. POLYM INT 2012. [DOI: 10.1002/pi.4303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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22
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23
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Wadley ML, Hsieh IF, Cavicchi KA, Cheng SZD. Solvent Dependence of the Morphology of Spin-Coated Thin Films of Polydimethylsiloxane-Rich Polystyrene-block-Polydimethylsiloxane Copolymers. Macromolecules 2012. [DOI: 10.1021/ma300044d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maurice L. Wadley
- Department of Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325-0301, United
States
| | - I-Fan Hsieh
- Department of Polymer
Science, The University of Akron, Akron,
Ohio 44325-3909, United States
| | - Kevin A. Cavicchi
- Department of Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325-0301, United
States
| | - Stephen Z. D. Cheng
- Department of Polymer
Science, The University of Akron, Akron,
Ohio 44325-3909, United States
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24
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Zou Z, He X, Wang L. Phase segregation of a symmetric diblock copolymer in constrained space with a square-pillar array. J Chem Phys 2012; 136:074902. [PMID: 22360259 DOI: 10.1063/1.3685220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we apply a self-consistent field theory of polymers to study the structures of a symmetric diblock copolymer in parallel substrates filled with square-pillar arrays in which the substrates and pillars exhibit a weak preference for one block of the copolymer. Three classes of structures, i.e., lamellae, perpendicular cylinders, and bicontinuous structures, are achieved by varying the polymer film thickness, the pillar pitch (the distance between two centers of the nearest neighboring pillars), the gap and rotation of the pillars. Because of the confinement along horizontal directions imposed by the pillar array, eight novel types of perpendicular lamellar structures and eight novel types of cylindrical structures with various shapes and distributions occur. In the hybridization states of the parallel and perpendicular lamellar structures, several novel bicontinuous structures such as the double-cylinder network, pseudo-lamellae, and perforated lamellar structure are also found. By comparing the free energies of the various possible structures, the antisymmetric parallel lamellae are observed to be stable with the larger pillar gap at a certain film thickness. The structural transformations between the alternating cylindrical structures (alternating cross-shaped, square-shaped, and octagonal perpendicular cylinders) and parallel lamellae with increasing film thickness or pillar gap are well explained by the modified strong separation theory. Our results indicate that array confinement can be an effective method to prepare novel polymeric nanopattern structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhixiang Zou
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, People's Republic of China
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Guo X, Yuan S, Yang S, Lv K, Yuan S. Mesoscale simulation on patterned core–shell nanosphere model for amphiphilic block copolymer. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2011.03.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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26
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Wang R, Jiang Z, Xue G. Excluded volume effect on the self-assembly of amphiphilic AB diblock copolymer in dilute solution. POLYMER 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2011.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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27
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He M, Qiu F, Lin Z. Conjugated rod–coil and rod–rod block copolymers for photovoltaic applications. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1039/c1jm11518a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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28
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Detcheverry FA, Nealey PF, de Pablo JJ. Directed Assembly of a Cylinder-Forming Diblock Copolymer: Topographic and Chemical Patterns. Macromolecules 2010. [DOI: 10.1021/ma1006733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- François A. Detcheverry
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706-1691
| | - Paul F. Nealey
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706-1691
| | - Juan J. de Pablo
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706-1691
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29
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Li Y, Huang H, He T, Gong Y. The Effect of the Preferential Affinity of the Solvent on the Microstructure of Solution-Cast Block Copolymer Thin Films. J Phys Chem B 2009; 114:1264-70. [DOI: 10.1021/jp908852u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yuhu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, P. R. China
| | - Haiying Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, P. R. China
| | - Tianbai He
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, P. R. China
| | - Yumei Gong
- School of Chemical and Material, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian, 116034, P. R. China
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30
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Yang G, Tang P, Yang Y, Cabral JT. Self-assembly of AB diblock copolymers under confinement into topographically patterned surfaces. J Phys Chem B 2009; 113:14052-61. [PMID: 19813712 DOI: 10.1021/jp9033613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Motivated by recent experiments of copolymer patterning by nanoimprinting, we investigate microphase separation and morphology for symmetric AB diblock copolymers with lamellar structure in bulk, confined between a flat bottom surface and a square-wave top surface by using the self-consistent field theory (SCFT). The efficient and high-order accurate pseudospectral method is adopted to numerically solve the SCFT equations in irregularly shaped domains with the help of the "masking" technique by embedding the confined domains of arbitrary shape within a larger rectangular computational cell. Our simulations reveal that the inverted T-style and trapezoid structures occurring in the relatively strong and weak surface fields, respectively, are following our topographically patterned surface. For neutral walls, when the thickness of the lower section is commensurate with the lamellae period of bulk block copolymers, the topographically patterned surface in this work leads to parallel lamellae, and completely parallel lamellae are favored when both the width and height of the upper section are equal to the lamellae bulk period. Furthermore, the prevalent structures are the parallel lamellae in the upper section combined with the perpendicular lamellae in the lower section. When the walls repel one of the block species, parallel lamellae occur in a wide range of film thicknesses compared to the case of neutral walls. To our knowledge, some new structures, however, such as square and partial square structures and reversed-T and trapezoid structures, have not been reported before under parallel surface confinement. In general, the required structures can be obtained by choosing the proper degree of spatial confinement, characterized by variations of the ratio of film thicknesses to bulk repeat period, and the block-substrate interactions. Moreover, we show that the confinement width of the lower section (or the period of the square wave) plays a critical role in microstructure formation. These findings provide a guide to designing novel microstructures involving symmetric diblock copolymers via topographically patterned surfaces and surface fields, relevant to nanoimprinting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guang Yang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
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31
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Wang X, Li S, Chen P, Zhang L, Liang H. Microstructures of lamella-forming diblock copolymer melts under nanorod-array confinements. POLYMER 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2009.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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32
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Xu Y, Li W, Qiu F, Yang Y, Shi AC. Self-Assembly of ABC Star Triblock Copolymers under a Cylindrical Confinement. J Phys Chem B 2009; 113:11153-9. [DOI: 10.1021/jp9043896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yuci Xu
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Ministry of Education, China, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Weihua Li
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Ministry of Education, China, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Feng Qiu
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Ministry of Education, China, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Yuliang Yang
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Ministry of Education, China, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - An-Chang Shi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8S 4M1
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33
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Li S, Chen P, Wang X, Zhang L, Liang H. Surface-induced morphologies of lamella-forming diblock copolymers confined in nanorod arrays. J Chem Phys 2009; 130:014902. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3050102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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34
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He L, Zhang L, Liang H. Cooperative surface-induced self-assembly of symmetric diblock copolymers confined films with embedded nanorods. POLYMER 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2008.11.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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35
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Heckmann M, Drossel B. Strong stretching theory for diblock copolymers in thin films. J Chem Phys 2008; 129:214903. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3027437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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36
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Han E, Stuen KO, La YH, Nealey PF, Gopalan P. Effect of Composition of Substrate-Modifying Random Copolymers on the Orientation of Symmetric and Asymmetric Diblock Copolymer Domains. Macromolecules 2008. [DOI: 10.1021/ma8018393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 208] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eungnak Han
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Karl O. Stuen
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Young-Hye La
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Paul F. Nealey
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Padma Gopalan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
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37
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Park SM, Craig GSW, Liu CC, La YH, Ferrier NJ, Nealey PF. Characterization of Cylinder-Forming Block Copolymers Directed to Assemble on Spotted Chemical Patterns. Macromolecules 2008. [DOI: 10.1021/ma8009917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sang-Min Park
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Gordon S. W. Craig
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Chi-Chun Liu
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Young-Hye La
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Nicola J. Ferrier
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
| | - Paul F. Nealey
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
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38
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Han W, Tang P, Li X, Qiu F, Zhang H, Yang Y. Self-Assembly of Star ABC Triblock Copolymer Thin Films: Self-Consistent Field Theory. J Phys Chem B 2008; 112:13738-48. [DOI: 10.1021/jp801675z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wenchi Han
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymer, Ministry of Education, and Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Ping Tang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymer, Ministry of Education, and Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Xuan Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymer, Ministry of Education, and Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Feng Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymer, Ministry of Education, and Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Hongdong Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymer, Ministry of Education, and Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Yuliang Yang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymer, Ministry of Education, and Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
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39
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Affiliation(s)
- Marianne Heckmann
- Institut für Festkörperphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Barbara Drossel
- Institut für Festkörperphysik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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40
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Wang R, Chen YL, Hu J, Xue G. Depletion-induced surface alignment of asymmetric diblock copolymer in selective solvents. J Chem Phys 2008; 129:044907. [DOI: 10.1063/1.2957746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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41
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Tan H, Song Q, Yang S, Yan D, Shi AC. Confinement Effect on the Body-Centered-Cubic Phase of Diblock Copolymers in Film. MACROMOL THEOR SIMUL 2008. [DOI: 10.1002/mats.200700064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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42
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Chen P, Liang H, Shi AC. Origin of Microstructures from Confined Asymmetric Diblock Copolymers. Macromolecules 2007. [DOI: 10.1021/ma0705164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Peng Chen
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, People's Republic of China, and Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, People's Republic of China
| | - Haojun Liang
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, People's Republic of China, and Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, People's Republic of China
| | - An-Chang Shi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada
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43
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Meng D, Wang Q. Hard-surface effects in polymer self-consistent field calculations. J Chem Phys 2007; 126:234902. [PMID: 17600441 DOI: 10.1063/1.2740633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We have investigated several effects due to the confinement of polymer melts by impenetrable (hard) surfaces in the self-consistent field calculations. To adequately represent such confinement, the total (normalized) polymer segmental density (volume fraction) is usually constrained to an imposed profile that continuously decreases from 1 in the interior of confined melts to 0 at the surfaces over a short distance. The choice of this profile strongly influences the numerical performance of the self-consistent field calculations. In addition, for diblock copolymers A-B the hard-surface confinement has both energetic and entropic effects: On one hand, the decrease of polymer density from 1 reduces A-B repulsion and favors morphologies with more A-B interfaces near the surfaces. On the other hand, the enrichment of chain ends and depletion of middle segments near the surfaces favor parallel morphologies where chains orient mainly perpendicular to the surfaces. These two effects are comparable in magnitude, and for asymmetric diblock copolymers result in an entropic preference of a neutral surface for the shorter block as proposed previously [Q. Wang et al., Macromolecules 34, 3458 (2001)]. The hard-surface effects are weak in practice and thus manifested only when the surfaces are nearly neutral.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Meng
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 80523-1370, USA
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44
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Miao B, Yan D, Wickham RA, Shi AC. The nature of phase transitions of symmetric diblock copolymer melts under confinement. POLYMER 2007. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2007.05.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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45
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Monte Carlo Simulations of Nano-Confined Block Copolymers. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-6330-5_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
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46
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Wang R, Jiang Z, Chen YL, Xue G. Surface-Induced Phase Transition of Asymmetric Diblock Copolymer in Selective Solvents. J Phys Chem B 2006; 110:22726-31. [PMID: 17092022 DOI: 10.1021/jp064268+] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Surface-induced phase transition of asymmetric diblock copolymer in selective solvents is first theoretically investigated by using the real-space version of self-consistent field theory (SCFT). By varying the distance between two parallel hard surfaces (or the film thickness) W and the block copolymer concentration f(p), several morphologies are predicted and the phase diagram is constructed. Self-assembly morphologies of the diblock copolymer in dilute solution are found to change significantly with different film thickness. In confined systems, stable morphologies found in the bulk solution become unstable due to the loss of polymer conformation entropy. We find that in a very dilute block copolymer solution, phase separation can be induced through polymer depletion as the solution becomes more confined. Our findings provide an interesting starting point for a renewed effort in both experimental and theoretical investigations of confined block copolymer solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Wang
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, People's Republic of China.
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47
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Chen P, Liang H. Monte Carlo Simulations of Cylinder-Forming ABC Triblock Terpolymer Thin Films. J Phys Chem B 2006; 110:18212-24. [PMID: 16970438 DOI: 10.1021/jp061957c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We systematically study the cylinder-forming ABC triblock terpolymer thin films using canonical ensemble Monte Carlo simulations. The simulated annealing procedure is applied to the self-assembling process. By judicious choice of the system dimensions, we elaborately investigate the effect of film thickness on the orientation of the cylinders. This confined triblock terpolymer system exhibits different phase behavior under the weak and strong surface fields. In addition, we also investigate the ensemble-averaged chain orientations and relative density profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Chen
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, and Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China
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