Microphase Transitions of Perforated Lamellae of Cyclic Diblock Copolymers under Steady Shear

Shear-induced parallel and transverse alignments of cylinders in thin films of diblock copolymers

Coarse-grained Langevin dynamics simulations were performed to investigate the alignment behavior of monolayer films of cylinder-forming diblock copolymers under steady shear, a structure of significant importance for many technical applications such as nanopatterning. The influences of shear conditions, the interactions involved in the films, and the initial morphology of the cylinder-forming phase were examined. Our results showed that above a critical shear rate, the cylinders can align either along the shearing direction or transverse (log-rolling) to the shearing direction depending on the relative strength between the interchain attraction in the cylinders (εAA) and the surface attraction of the confining walls with the film (εBW). To understand the underlying mechanism, the microscopic properties of the films under shear were systematically investigated. It was found that at low εAA/εBW, the majority blocks of the diblock polymer that are adsorbed on the confining walls prefer to move synchronously with the walls, inducing the cylinder-forming blocks to align along the flow direction. When εAA/εBW is above a threshold value, a strong attraction between the cylinder-forming blocks restrains their movement during shear, leading to the log-rolling motions of the cylinders. To predict the threshold εAA/εBW, we developed an approach based on equilibrium thermodynamics data and found good agreement with our shear simulations.

Shear-induced self-assembly of linear ABC triblock copolymers in solution: creation of 1D cylindrical micellar structures

In this work, shear flow is introduced to create 1D cylindrical micellar structures based on solution self-assembly of linear ABC terpolymers.

Elongation flow-triggered morphology transitions of dendritic polyethylene amphiphilic assemblies: host-guest implications

The assemblies and transformations of dendritic polyethylene (DPE)-poly(oligo(ethyleneglycol) methacrylate) (POEGMA) amphiphilic micelles have been demonstrated by cryo-TEM and DLS techniques under elongation flow stimuli. The flow rate-dependence of the dissymmetry ratio suggests the possibility that a combination of shear and elongation could also be responsible for the transitions of DPE-POEGMAs, but it is obvious that the exposure of elongation flow is essential and plays a key role in the assembly and fusion of the DPE-POEGMA micelles. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is used to provide insight into the assembly and fusion of DPE-POEGMA under elongation flow. The FRET results show that a shorter separation distance of DiO-DiI with higher elongation rate can result in higher FRET efficiency. Furthermore, DPE-POEGMAs can display the responsive switching ability of the elongation flow-triggered FRET.

DISSIPATIVE PARTICLE DYNAMICS SIMULATION STUDY ON CONTROLLING MOLECULAR WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION IN EMULSION POLYMERIZATION

The controlling factors on molecular weight distribution in emulsion polymerization are investigated using dissipative particle dynamics simulations. The propagation and bi-radical termination kinetic steps are taken into account in the simulations by coupling a Monte Carlo type reaction model. We find that monomer concentration can be very efficient on controlling molecular weight distribution and plays a decisive role on the formation of high molecular weight polymers. Increasing initiator concentration can effectively reduce the polymer molecular weight while increasing the polydispersity index. Moreover, increasing polymerization rate can slightly narrow the molecular weight distribution. We also find that, by suitably tuning the surfactant chain length, it may be possible to obtain an optimal molecular weight distribution in emulsion polymerization.

Rheological response and dynamics of the amphiphilic diamond phase from kinetic lattice–Boltzmann simulations

The purpose of the present paper is to report on the first computational study of the dynamical and rheological response of a self-assembled diamond mesophase under Couette flow in a ternary mixture composed of oil, water and an amphiphilic species. The amphiphilic diamond mesophase arises in a wide range of chemical and biological systems, and a knowledge of its rheological response has important implications in materials science and biotechnological applications. The simulations reported here are performed using a kinetic lattice–Boltzmann method. Lyotropic liquid crystals exhibit characteristic rheological responses in experiments that include shear-banding and a non-Newtonian flow curve as well as viscoelasticity under oscillatory shear. Their behaviour under steady and oscillatory shear is correctly reproduced in our simulations. On cessation of shear, as the morphology returns to the diamond phase, the relaxation of the stress response follows a stretched-exponential form for low initial strain rates.