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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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2
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Yang J, Dong Q, Liu M, Li W. Universality and Specificity in the Self-Assembly of Cylinder-Forming Block Copolymers under Cylindrical Confinement. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c02504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- 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
| | - Qingshu Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Meijiao Liu
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Weihua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
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Gupta S, Chokshi P. Self-organization of a 4-miktoarm star block copolymer induced by cylindrical confinement. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:4929-4941. [PMID: 33725050 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm00149c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Self-consistent field calculations have been carried out to reveal the self-assembly behavior of a melt of the ABCD star tetrablock copolymer confined within a cylindrical nanopore. The miktoarm star block copolymer exhibits a rich self-assembly behavior with a myriad of interesting three-dimensional ordered phases with the potential to produce advanced nanomaterials. The broad array of ordered mesophases includes helical microstructures, stack of rings/doughnuts, honeycomb structure, and perforated lamella with beads, depending on the individual block fractions and the size of the cylindrical nanopore. Such chiral motifs generated from achiral polymeric molecules are fascinating due to their superior performance in sophisticated opto-electronic devices. The study also demonstrates an interesting morphology, viz. a honeycomb structure, obtained from the self-organization of ABCD star block copolymer molecules with equal block fractions. The system exhibits order-order phase transition covering a range of ordered morphologies by changing either the block fraction or the nanopore radius. A representative phase diagram in terms of block fractions is constructed. These novel ordered microstructures, arising mainly out of structural frustration and confinement-induced entropy loss, can serve as structural scaffolds to host the spatial distribution of nanoparticles resulting into novel nanocomposites with significantly enhanced as well as controllable properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- 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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Hu X, Wang Z, Yin Y, Jiang R, Li B. Controlling the chirality and number of strands of helices self-assembled from achiral block copolymers confined inside a nanopore: a simulation study. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:4434-4444. [PMID: 33908596 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm00103e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Achiral block copolymers can self-assemble into helical structures when confined inside a cylindrical nanopore. However, controlling the chirality and the number of strands of helices is challenging. We present our simulation results of the influence of a chiral patch added to the confining nanopore on the structures and chirality of helices self-assembled from achiral cylinder-forming diblock copolymers under the confinement. Our results indicate that, when the designed patch is of proper geometry, it can induce the formation of helical structures and exhibit good control over their chirality. The bottom surface of the patch can induce the formation of a characteristic local structure near and parallel to it. It is the characteristic local structure that directs the formation of helices and of their chirality consistent with that of the patch. A large patch angle or the top/bottom surface of a weakly selective pore promotes the formation of double-helices compared to single-helices by enlarging the pitch of the helices near the patch or through the entropic attraction of the top surface of the pore to the minority blocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiejun Hu
- School of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
| | - Zheng Wang
- School of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
| | - Yuhua Yin
- School of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
| | - Run Jiang
- School of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
| | - Baohui Li
- School of Physics, Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials of Ministry of Education, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
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Schneider L, Lichtenberg G, Vega D, Müller M. Symmetric Diblock Copolymers in Cylindrical Confinement: A Way to Chiral Morphologies? ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:50077-50095. [PMID: 33079515 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c16987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the confinement-induced formation and stability of helix morphologies in lamella-forming AB diblock copolymers via large-scale, particle-based, single-chain-in-mean-field simulations. Such helix structures are rarely observed in bulk or thin films. Structure formation is induced by quenching incompatibility, χN, from a disordered morphology. If the surfaces of the cylindrical confinement do not prefer one component over the other, we observe that stacked lamellae, with their normals along the cylinder axis, are the preferred morphology. Kinetically, this morphology initially forms close to the cylinder surface, whereas the spontaneous, spinodal microphase separation in the cylinder's interior gives rise to a microemulsion-like morphology, riddled with defects and no directional order. Subsequently, the ordered morphology on the cylinder surface progresses inward, pervading the entire volume. In case that the cylindrical pore is only partially filled, the additional confinement along the cylinder axis generally gives rise to incommensurability between the equilibrium spacing of stacked lamellae and the cylinder height. To accommodate this mismatch, the lamella normals will tilt away from the cylinder axis and generate helices of lamellae on the surface of the cylinder. Again, this order progresses from the cylinder surface inward, generating a chiral morphology. Because the spacing between the internal AB interfaces decreases upon approaching the helix center, the concomitant stress results in a decrease in the number of lamellae and the formation of unique dislocation defects. This type of chiral defect morphology is reproducibly formed by the kinetics of structure formation in partly filled cylindrical pores with nonpreferential surfaces and may find applications in photonic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludwig Schneider
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Georg-August University Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Georg Lichtenberg
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Georg-August University Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daniel Vega
- Instituto de Fı́sica del Sur (IFISUR), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientı́ficas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Sur, 8000 Bahı́a Blanca, Argentina
| | - Marcus Müller
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Georg-August University Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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Jiang Y, Qian M, Xu Y. Influence of Branches on the Phase Behavior of (AB) f Starlike Block Copolymer under Cylindrical Confinement. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:16813-16820. [PMID: 31789525 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b02740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Experimentally, self-assembled morphologies of the (AB)f starlike block copolymer are strongly dependent on the number of arms, f. For example, the 2- and 4-arm starlike block copolymers exhibited the morphologies of hexagonally arrayed polystyrene cylinder in the polyisoprene matrix while order-bicontinuous nanostructures were observed in 8-, 12-, and 18-arm stars. Theoretically, we found that the transition sequence for (AB)3 is C1B → DkB → P2B → L2B, which becomes C1B → L1B when f > 6. To explore the influence of f on the phase behavior of (AB)f under cylindrical confinement, we calculated the two-dimensional phase diagram with respect to the volume fraction and the pore diameter. Our conclusions show that the topologies of the phase diagram are independent of the number of arms; however, the number of arms does affect the phase boundary, which inevitably leads to the different phase transition sequences at fixed volume fraction. Therefore, from the calculated phase diagram, the influence of f on the phase behavior of the starlike copolymer is fully understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangyang Jiang
- Faculty of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering , Ningbo University , 818 Fenghua Road , Ningbo , Zhejiang 315211 , China
| | - Mingshuang Qian
- Faculty of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering , Ningbo University , 818 Fenghua Road , Ningbo , Zhejiang 315211 , China
| | - Yuci Xu
- Faculty of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering , Ningbo University , 818 Fenghua Road , Ningbo , Zhejiang 315211 , China
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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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Zhang Q, Qiang Y, Duan C, Li W. Single Helix Self-Assembled by Frustrated ABC 2 Branched Terpolymers. Macromolecules 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b00110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Qi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Collaborative Innovation Center of Polymers and Polymer Composite Materials, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Yicheng Qiang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Collaborative Innovation Center of Polymers and Polymer Composite Materials, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Chao Duan
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Collaborative Innovation Center of Polymers and Polymer Composite Materials, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Weihua Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Collaborative Innovation Center of Polymers and Polymer Composite Materials, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
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