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Wang Y, Li YX, Li Q, Jia R, Tang Q, Huang H, Zhang Y, Feng X. Highly Ordered Gyroid Nanostructured Polymers: Facile Fabrication by Polymerizable Pluronic Surfactants. ACS Macro Lett 2024; 13:550-557. [PMID: 38634712 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.4c00161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Highly ordered, network-nanostructured polymers offer compelling geometric features and application potential. However, their practical utilization is hampered by the restricted accessibility. Here, we address this challenge using commercial Pluronic surfactants with a straightforward modification of tethering polymerizable groups. By leveraging lyotropic self-assembly, we achieve facile production of double-gyroid mesophases, which are subsequently solidified via photoinduced cross-linking. The exceptionally ordered periodicities of Ia3d symmetry in the photocured polymers are unambiguously confirmed by synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), which can capture single-crystal-like diffraction patterns. Electron density maps reconstructed from SAXS data complemented by transmission electron microscopy analysis further elucidate the real-space gyroid assemblies. Intriguingly, by tuning the cross-linking through thiol-acrylate chemistry, the mechanical properties of the polymer are modulated without compromising the integrity of Ia3d assemblies. The 3-D percolating gyroid nanochannels demonstrate an ionic conductivity that surpasses that of disordered structures, offering promising prospects for scalable fabrication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinuo Wang
- 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, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Ya-Xin Li
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Qing Li
- 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, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Ruoyin Jia
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
| | - Qingchen Tang
- 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, Shanghai 201620, 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, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Yizhou Zhang
- Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan
| | - 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, Shanghai 201620, China
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Erukhimovich IY, Kriksin YA, Kudryavtsev YV. The permeability of diamond and other microphase-separated morphologies in copolymer films. SOFT MATTER 2024; 20:1846-1857. [PMID: 38315079 DOI: 10.1039/d3sm01532g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
A method is proposed for the theoretical assessment of potential membrane properties in materials based on microphase-separated block copolymer films subjected to the etching of one of the components. The concepts of topological permeability and connectivity contrast introduced by the authors are used to compare the percolation characteristics of simple cubic, diamond, and diamond-like morphologies compatible with the slit geometry and specified by a given distribution of the order parameter. The diamond-like morphology, which has the most promising transport characteristics, can be formed in a thin film of diblock copolymer AB placed on a chemically structured substrate. For this case, the quantitative analysis of permeability for certain parameters of the model system is carried out using the local distribution of A and B units calculated with the self-consistent field theory of microphase separation. The results obtained may be useful for the design of isoporous membranes based on block copolymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Ya Erukhimovich
- Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 29, Moscow, 119991, Russia.
- Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilova st. 28, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Yury A Kriksin
- Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 29, Moscow, 119991, Russia.
- Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Miusskaya sq. 4, Moscow, 125047, Russia
| | - Yaroslav V Kudryavtsev
- Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 29, Moscow, 119991, Russia.
- Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 31, Moscow, 119071, Russia
- ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, Paris, 75005, France
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Chen P, Dorfman KD. Gaming self-consistent field theory: Generative block polymer phase discovery. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2308698120. [PMID: 37922326 PMCID: PMC10636330 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2308698120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Block polymers are an attractive platform for uncovering the factors that give rise to self-assembly in soft matter owing to their relatively simple thermodynamic description, as captured in self-consistent field theory (SCFT). SCFT historically has found great success explaining experimental data, allowing one to construct phase diagrams from a set of candidate phases, and there is now strong interest in deploying SCFT as a screening tool to guide experimental design. However, using SCFT for phase discovery leads to a conundrum: How does one discover a new morphology if the set of candidate phases needs to be specified in advance? This long-standing challenge was surmounted by training a deep convolutional generative adversarial network (GAN) with trajectories from converged SCFT solutions, and then deploying the GAN to generate input fields for subsequent SCFT calculations. The power of this approach is demonstrated for network phase formation in neat diblock copolymer melts via SCFT. A training set of only five networks produced 349 candidate phases spanning known and previously unexplored morphologies, including a chiral network. This computational pipeline, constructed here entirely from open-source codes, should find widespread application in block polymer phase discovery and other forms of soft matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengyu Chen
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota—Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN55455
| | - Kevin D. Dorfman
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota—Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN55455
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Zhao B, Dong Q, Yang W, Xu Y. Theoretical Study of Phase Behaviors of Symmetric Linear B 1A 1B 2A 2B 3 Pentablock Copolymer. Molecules 2023; 28:molecules28083536. [PMID: 37110770 PMCID: PMC10146716 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28083536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The nanostructures that are self-assembled from block copolymer systems have attracted interest. Generally, it is believed that the dominating stable spherical phase is body-centered cubic (BCC) in linear AB-type block copolymer systems. The question of how to obtain spherical phases with other arrangements, such as the face-centered cubic (FCC) phase, has become a very interesting scientific problem. In this work, the phase behaviors of a symmetric linear B1A1B2A2B3 (fA1 = fA2, fB1 = fB3) pentablock copolymer are studied using the self-consistent field theory (SCFT), from which the influence of the relative length of the bridging B2-block on the formation of ordered nanostructures is revealed. By calculating the free energy of the candidate ordered phases, we determine that the stability regime of the BCC phase can be replaced by the FCC phase completely by tuning the length ratio of the middle bridging B2-block, demonstrating the key role of B2-block in stabilizing the spherical packing phase. More interestingly, the unusual phase transitions between the BCC and FCC spherical phases, i.e., BCC → FCC → BCC → FCC → BCC, are observed as the length of the bridging B2-block increases. Even though the topology of the phase diagrams is less affected, the phase windows of the several ordered nanostructures are dramatically changed. Specifically, the changing of the bridging B2-block can significantly adjust the asymmetrical phase regime of the Fddd network phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Zhao
- Department of Physics, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Qingshu Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Wei Yang
- Department of Physics, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Yuci Xu
- Faculty of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
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Chen P, Bates FS, Dorfman KD. Alternating Gyroid Stabilized by Surfactant-like Triblock Terpolymers in IS/SO/ISO Ternary Blends. Macromolecules 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c02485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Pengyu Chen
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota−Twin Cities, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Frank S. Bates
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota−Twin Cities, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Kevin D. Dorfman
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota−Twin Cities, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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Hartmann F, Niebuur BJ, Koch M, Kraus T, Gallei M. Synthesis and Microphase Separation of Dendrimer-like Block Copolymers by Anionic Polymerization Strategies. Eur Polym J 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2023.111894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
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Cui S, Zhang B, Shen L, Bates FS, Lodge TP. Core–Shell Gyroid in ABC Bottlebrush Block Terpolymers. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:21719-21727. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c09674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shuquan Cui
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Bo Zhang
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Liyang Shen
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Frank S. Bates
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Timothy P. Lodge
- Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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Li L, Xu Z, Li W. Emergence of Connected Binary Spherical Structures from the Self-assembly of an AB 2C Four-Arm Star Terpolymer. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Luyang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Zhanwen Xu
- 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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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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Chen P, Mahanthappa MK, Dorfman KD. Stability of cubic single network phases in diblock copolymer melts. JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pol.20220318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pengyu Chen
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science University of Minnesota Minneapolis Minnesota USA
| | - Mahesh K. Mahanthappa
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science University of Minnesota Minneapolis Minnesota USA
| | - Kevin D. Dorfman
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science University of Minnesota Minneapolis Minnesota USA
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Park SJ, Bates FS, Dorfman KD. Alternating Gyroid in Block Polymer Blends. ACS Macro Lett 2022; 11:643-650. [PMID: 35570813 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.2c00115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Alternating gyroid is a lower symmetry variant of the double gyroid morphology, where the left-handed and right-handed chiral networks are physically distinct. This structure is of particular interest for photonic applications owing to predictions of a complete photonic band gap subject to the requirement of a large dielectric contrast between the individual networks and sufficient optical matching between one of the networks and the matrix. We provide evidence, via self-consistent field theory (SCFT), that stoichiometric blends of double-gyroid-forming AB and BC diblock copolymers with relatively immiscible A and C blocks should form an alternating gyroid morphology with complementary three-dimensional A and C networks that have a free energy that is nearly degenerate with two phase-separated double gyroid states. Solvent casting offers the potential for trapping this binary mixture of diblock copolymers in this metastable alternating gyroid phase. Theory further predicts that the addition of a minuscule amount (<1%) of ABC triblock terpolymer will open an alternating gyroid stability window in the resulting ternary-phase diagram. The surfactant-like stabilization produced by the triblock is relatively insensitive to its exact composition provided the B-block forms a sufficiently long bridge between the A-rich and C-rich networks. This blending strategy provides significant synthetic and material processing advantages compared to prevailing methods to produce an alternating gyroid phase in block polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- So Jung Park
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota − Twin Cities, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Frank S. Bates
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota − Twin Cities, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Kevin D. Dorfman
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota − Twin Cities, 421 Washington Avenue SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
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