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Hybrid Time-Dependent Ginzburg–Landau Simulations of Block Copolymer Nanocomposites: Nanoparticle Anisotropy. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:polym14091910. [PMID: 35567080 PMCID: PMC9103753 DOI: 10.3390/polym14091910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Block copolymer melts are perfect candidates to template the position of colloidal nanoparticles in the nanoscale, on top of their well-known suitability for lithography applications. This is due to their ability to self-assemble into periodic ordered structures, in which nanoparticles can segregate depending on the polymer–particle interactions, size and shape. The resulting coassembled structure can be highly ordered as a combination of both the polymeric and colloidal properties. The time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau model for the block copolymer was combined with Brownian dynamics for nanoparticles, resulting in an efficient mesoscopic model to study the complex behaviour of block copolymer nanocomposites. This review covers recent developments of the time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau/Brownian dynamics scheme. This includes efforts to parallelise the numerical scheme and applications of the model. The validity of the model is studied by comparing simulation and experimental results for isotropic nanoparticles. Extensions to simulate nonspherical and inhomogeneous nanoparticles are discussed and simulation results are discussed. The time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau/Brownian dynamics scheme is shown to be a flexible method which can account for the relatively large system sizes required to study block copolymer nanocomposite systems, while being easily extensible to simulate nonspherical nanoparticles.
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2
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Das P, Jaiswal PK, Puri S. Surface-directed spinodal decomposition on chemically patterned substrates. Phys Rev E 2020; 102:012803. [PMID: 32794988 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.102.012803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Surface-directed spinodal decomposition (SDSD) is the kinetic interplay of phase separation and wetting at a surface. This process is of great scientific and technological importance. In this paper, we report results from a numerical study of SDSD on a chemically patterned substrate. We consider simple surface patterns for our simulations, but most of the results apply for arbitrary patterns. In layers near the surface, we observe a dynamical crossover from a surface-registry regime to a phase-separation regime. We study this crossover using layerwise correlation functions and structure factors and domain length scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prasenjit Das
- Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.,School of Physical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Prabhat K Jaiswal
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, Karwar 342037, India
| | - Sanjay Puri
- School of Physical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
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Diaz J, Pinna M, Zvelindovsky AV, Pagonabarraga I, Shenhar R. Block Copolymer–Nanorod Co-assembly in Thin Films: Effects of Rod–Rod Interaction and Confinement. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b02475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Javier Diaz
- Centre for computational Physics, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS, U.K
| | - Marco Pinna
- Centre for computational Physics, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS, U.K
| | - Andrei V. Zvelindovsky
- Centre for computational Physics, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS, U.K
| | - Ignacio Pagonabarraga
- Departament de Fisica de la Materia Condensada, Universitat de Barcelona, Marti i Franques 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- CECAM, Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Batochime - Avenue Forel 2, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Universitat de Barcelona Institute of Complex Systems (UBICS), Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Roy Shenhar
- Institute of Chemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel
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Diaz J, Pinna M, Zvelindovsky AV, Pagonabarraga I. Large scale three dimensional simulations of hybrid block copolymer/nanoparticle systems. SOFT MATTER 2019; 15:9325-9335. [PMID: 31687717 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm01760g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Block copolymer melts self-assemble in the bulk into a variety of nanostructures, making them perfect candidates to template the position of nanoparticles. The morphological changes of block copolymers are studied in the presence of a considerable filling fraction of colloids. Furthermore, colloids can be found to assemble into ordered hexagonally close-packed structures in a defined number of layers when softly confined within the phase-separated block copolymer. A high concentration of interface-compatible nanoparticles leads to complex long-lived block copolymer morphologies depending on the polymeric composition. Macrophase separation between the colloids and the block copolymer can be induced if colloids are unsolvable within the matrix. This leads to the formation of ellipsoid-shaped polymer-rich domains elongated along the direction perpendicular to the interface between block copolymer domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Diaz
- Centre for Computational Physics, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, UK. and CECAM, Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Batochime - Avenue Forel 2, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marco Pinna
- Centre for Computational Physics, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, UK.
| | - Andrei V Zvelindovsky
- Centre for Computational Physics, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, UK.
| | - Ignacio Pagonabarraga
- CECAM, Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Batochime - Avenue Forel 2, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland and Departament de Física de la Matéria Condensada, Universitat de Barcelona, Martíi Franqués 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain. and Universitat de Barcelona Institute of Complex Systems (UBICS), Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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5
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Diaz J, Pinna M, Zvelindovsky AV, Pagonabarraga I. Nonspherical Nanoparticles in Block Copolymer Composites: Nanosquares, Nanorods, and Diamonds. Macromolecules 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Javier Diaz
- Centre for Computational Physics, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, U.K
| | - Marco Pinna
- Centre for Computational Physics, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, U.K
| | | | - Ignacio Pagonabarraga
- CECAM, Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Batochime - Avenue Forel 2, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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6
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Zhao W, Duan C, Li W. Hybrid line-dot nanopatterns from directed self-assembly of diblock copolymers by trenches. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:10011-10021. [PMID: 31041947 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp00949c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We demonstrate that the directed self-assembly of AB diblock copolymers by periodic trenches can be used to fabricate large-scale ordered hybrid line-dot nanopatterns in addition to a defect-free dot nanopattern. The formation of line or dot nanopatterns in thin films with proper surface affinities is controlled by the film thickness, which is modulated by a topographic pattern consisting of steps and trenches. Two kinds of line-dot nanopatterns are achieved with cylinder-forming and sphere-forming copolymers, respectively. One kind of hybrid nanopatterns is composed of perpendicularly standing cylinders (dots) on the steps and parallel monolayer cylinders (lines) within the trenches, while the dots of the other kind are replaced by monolayer spheres on the steps. The thermodynamic stability region of target hybrid nanopatterns is identified by constructing two-dimensional phase diagrams with respect to two control parameters of step height and film thickness using self-consistent field theory. Furthermore, a process window of the line-dot nanopatterns is estimated using cell dynamics simulations based on time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory, confirming their feasibility in kinetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenfeng Zhao
- 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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Xiang W, Zhu Z, Wang K, Zhou L. Mesoscopic simulation study on the structural transition of comb-shaped block copolymer lamellae on chemically patterned substrates: from vertical to lateral. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:641-649. [PMID: 30540306 DOI: 10.1039/c8cp06317f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Directed self-assembly of polymers on chemically homogeneous and heterogeneous patterns is of considerable interest for nanolithography and nanofluidic devices. By employing dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) technology, we explore the nanoscale phase separation of comb-like block copolymers (CBCPs) confined at chemically homogeneous and heterogeneous substrates. Herein, the geometric and energetic influences of striped substrates on the microphases are firstly studied using various geometries of annular stripes for the heterogeneous substrates. Different parameters including the stripe geometry, substrate selectivity, and film thickness are studied systematically. T-Junction lamellae and acclivitous alignment are achieved on the heterogeneous substrates because of the synergy of geometrical effects of the striped pattern from heterogeneous substrates together with weak preference of the substrates toward one of the CBCP components. In this study, we provide a detailed understanding of microphase separation of CBCPs on the heterogeneous substrates, and the approach outlined in the present study offers a crucial tool for experimentalists to design CBCP thin films with complex device-oriented structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjun Xiang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Sichuan University of Arts and Science, Dazhou, Sichuan 635000, P. R. China.
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Ye Y, Du Z, Tian M, Zhang L, Mi J. Diffusive dynamics of polymer chains in an array of nanoposts. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2017; 19:380-387. [DOI: 10.1039/c6cp07217h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The diffusion of the head, side, and middle segments in confined polymer chains displays different dynamics in different directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites
- Beijing University of Chemical Technology
- Beijing 100029
- China
- Key Laboratory of Beijing City on Preparation and Processing of Novel Polymer Materials
| | - Zhongjie Du
- Key Laboratory of Beijing City on Preparation and Processing of Novel Polymer Materials
- Beijing University of Chemical Technology
- Beijing
- China
| | - Ming Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites
- Beijing University of Chemical Technology
- Beijing 100029
- China
- Key Laboratory of Beijing City on Preparation and Processing of Novel Polymer Materials
| | - Liqun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites
- Beijing University of Chemical Technology
- Beijing 100029
- China
- Key Laboratory of Beijing City on Preparation and Processing of Novel Polymer Materials
| | - Jianguo Mi
- State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites
- Beijing University of Chemical Technology
- Beijing 100029
- China
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Yang T, Tian S, Zhu Y, Li W. Perfectly Ordered Patterns Formed by a Heterogeneous Nucleation Process of Block Copolymer Self-Assembly Under Rectangular Confinement. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2016; 32:13787-13794. [PMID: 27959561 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b03638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The heterogeneous nucleation process during the phase separation of binary blends of the AB diblock and the C homopolymer induced by rectangular confinement is studied by cell dynamics simulation based on the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau theory. The main goal is to yield large-scale ordered hexagonal patterns by tailoring the surface potentials of the sidewalls. Our study reveals a crucial condition to induce the desired heterogeneous nucleation process in which the nucleated domain grains grow and merge into a defect-free pattern. Specifically, nucleations are induced simultaneously by two parallel sidewalls with a strong surface potential, whereas the spontaneous nucleation and the heterogeneous nucleation at the other two walls with a weak surface potential are suppressed. Moreover, the confinement effect of the other two walls can ensure that the two rows of nucleated domains have correlated positions. Importantly, we find that the ordering process under the crucial condition exhibits a high tolerance to the rectangular sizes. Only a few defects in thousands of domains are occasionally caused that are observed to be annihilated in a short-annealing time via various mechanisms. This study may provide a facile route to prepare large-scale ordered patterns via a simple rectangular confinement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Yang
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Information Sensing & Intelligent Desert, School of Physics and Electronic-Electrical Engineering, Ningxia University , Yinchuan 750021, China
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University , Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Siwen Tian
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Information Sensing & Intelligent Desert, School of Physics and Electronic-Electrical Engineering, Ningxia University , Yinchuan 750021, China
| | - Yu Zhu
- Ningxia Key Laboratory of Information Sensing & Intelligent Desert, School of Physics and Electronic-Electrical Engineering, Ningxia University , Yinchuan 750021, China
| | - Weihua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University , Shanghai 200433, China
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Higuchi T, Pinna M, Zvelindovsky AV, Jinnai H, Yabu H. Multipod structures of lamellae-forming diblock copolymers in three-dimensional confinement spaces: Experimental observation and computer simulation. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016. [DOI: 10.1002/polb.24072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Takeshi Higuchi
- Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM), Tohoku University; 2-1-1, Katahira, Aoba-Ku Sendai 980-8577 Japan
| | - Marco Pinna
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool; Lincoln LN6 7TS United Kingdom
| | - Andrei V. Zvelindovsky
- School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool; Lincoln LN6 7TS United Kingdom
| | - Hiroshi Jinnai
- Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM), Tohoku University; 2-1-1, Katahira, Aoba-Ku Sendai 980-8577 Japan
| | - Hiroshi Yabu
- Research Division Gobancho Building 5F, Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency; 7 Gobancho, Chiyoda-Ku Tokyo 102-0076 Japan
- WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University; 2-1-1, Katahira, Aoba-Ku Sendai 980-8577 Japan
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11
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Directed self-assembly of block copolymers by chemical or topographical guiding patterns: Optimizing molecular architecture, thin-film properties, and kinetics. Prog Polym Sci 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2015.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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12
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Cui G, Fujikawa M, Nagano S, Shimokita K, Miyazaki T, Sakurai S, Yamamoto K. Macroscopic Alignment of Cylinders via Directional Coalescence of Spheres along Annealing Solvent Permeation Directions in Block Copolymer Thick Films. Macromolecules 2014. [DOI: 10.1021/ma501033a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Guanghui Cui
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
| | - Masamichi Fujikawa
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
| | - Shusaku Nagano
- Department
of Molecular Design and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan
| | - Keisuke Shimokita
- Nitto Denko Corporation, 1-1-2,
Shimohozumi, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-8680, Japan
| | - Tsukasa Miyazaki
- Nitto Denko Corporation, 1-1-2,
Shimohozumi, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-8680, Japan
| | - Shinichi Sakurai
- Department
of Biobased Materials Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan
| | - Katsuhiro Yamamoto
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Gokiso-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
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13
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Hao QH, Miao B, Song QG, Niu XH, Liu TJ. Phase behaviors of sphere-forming triblock copolymers confined in nanopores: A dynamic density functional theory study. POLYMER 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2014.06.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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14
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Maniadis P, Tsimpanogiannis I, Kober E, Lookman T. Morphology of diblock copolymers in porous media. Mol Phys 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/00268976.2014.886736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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16
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Cui G, Ohya S, Matsutani T, Nagano S, Dohi T, Nakamura S, Sakurai S, Miyazaki T, Yamamoto K. Perpendicular orientation of sub-10 nm channels in polystyrene-b-poly(4-hydroxyl styrene)/PEG oligomer blend thin films. NANOSCALE 2013; 5:6713-6719. [PMID: 23774763 DOI: 10.1039/c3nr01491f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Vertically oriented cylinders via the directional coalescence of the spheres embedded in the blend thin films from polystyrene-b-poly(4-hydroxyl styrene) (PS-b-PHS) and PEG induced by solvent annealing were achieved. Removal of PEG water led to the formation of nanochannels throughout the films. The diameter of these channels could be as small as 9 nm which might enhance the applicability of the nano-porous films as size-selective membranes and controllable drug delivery systems for the objects less than 10 nm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanghui Cui
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
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