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Xi S, Zhu Y, Lu J, Chapman WG. Block copolymer self-assembly: Melt and solution by molecular density functional theory. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:054902. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0069883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Shun Xi
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| | - Yiwei Zhu
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| | - Jinxin Lu
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
| | - Walter G. Chapman
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
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2
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Ketkar PM, Shen KH, Fan M, Hall LM, Epps TH. Quantifying the Effects of Monomer Segment Distributions on Ion Transport in Tapered Block Polymer Electrolytes. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c00941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Priyanka M. Ketkar
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Kuan-Hsuan Shen
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Mengdi Fan
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Lisa M. Hall
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Thomas H. Epps
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
- Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
- Center for Research in Soft matter & Polymers (CRiSP), University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
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3
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Beránek P, Posocco P, Posel Z. Phase Behavior of Gradient Copolymer Melts with Different Gradient Strengths Revealed by Mesoscale Simulations. Polymers (Basel) 2020; 12:E2462. [PMID: 33114271 PMCID: PMC7690882 DOI: 10.3390/polym12112462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Design and preparation of functional nanomaterials with specific properties requires precise control over their microscopic structure. A prototypical example is the self-assembly of diblock copolymers, which generate highly ordered structures controlled by three parameters: the chemical incompatibility between blocks, block size ratio and chain length. Recent advances in polymer synthesis have allowed for the preparation of gradient copolymers with controlled sequence chemistry, thus providing additional parameters to tailor their assembly. These are polydisperse monomer sequence, block size distribution and gradient strength. Here, we employ dissipative particle dynamics to describe the self-assembly of gradient copolymer melts with strong, intermediate, and weak gradient strength and compare their phase behavior to that of corresponding diblock copolymers. Gradient melts behave similarly when copolymers with a strong gradient are considered. Decreasing the gradient strength leads to the widening of the gyroid phase window, at the expense of cylindrical domains, and a remarkable extension of the lamellar phase. Finally, we show that weak gradient strength enhances chain packing in gyroid structures much more than in lamellar and cylindrical morphologies. Importantly, this work also provides a link between gradient copolymers morphology and parameters such as chemical incompatibility, chain length and monomer sequence as support for the rational design of these nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Beránek
- Department of Informatics, Faculty of Science, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, 40096 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic;
| | - Paola Posocco
- Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy;
| | - Zbyšek Posel
- Department of Informatics, Faculty of Science, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, 40096 Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic;
- Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Trieste, 34127 Trieste, Italy;
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4
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Cea-Klapp E, Quinteros-Lama H, Polishuk I, Garrido JM. Effect of size disparity on the gas-liquid interfacial properties of Lennard-Jones monomer plus dimer mixtures. J Mol Liq 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2020.113280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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5
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Stephan S, Hasse H. Enrichment at vapour–liquid interfaces of mixtures: establishing a link between nanoscopic and macroscopic properties. INT REV PHYS CHEM 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/0144235x.2020.1777705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Simon Stephan
- Laboratory of Engineering Thermodynamics (LTD), TU Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - Hans Hasse
- Laboratory of Engineering Thermodynamics (LTD), TU Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
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6
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Sing CE, Perry SL. Recent progress in the science of complex coacervation. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:2885-2914. [PMID: 32134099 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm00001a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 309] [Impact Index Per Article: 77.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Complex coacervation is an associative, liquid-liquid phase separation that can occur in solutions of oppositely-charged macromolecular species, such as proteins, polymers, and colloids. This process results in a coacervate phase, which is a dense mix of the oppositely-charged components, and a supernatant phase, which is primarily devoid of these same species. First observed almost a century ago, coacervates have since found relevance in a wide range of applications; they are used in personal care and food products, cutting edge biotechnology, and as a motif for materials design and self-assembly. There has recently been a renaissance in our understanding of this important class of material phenomena, bringing the science of coacervation to the forefront of polymer and colloid science, biophysics, and industrial materials design. In this review, we describe the emergence of a number of these new research directions, specifically in the context of polymer-polymer complex coacervates, which are inspired by a number of key physical and chemical insights and driven by a diverse range of experimental, theoretical, and computational approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles E Sing
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 S. Mathews, Urbana, IL, USA.
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7
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Gao N, Hou G, Liu J, Shen J, Gao Y, Lyulin AV, Zhang L. Tailoring the mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites via interfacial engineering. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:18714-18726. [PMID: 31424061 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp02948f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The improvement of mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) has been studied for many years, with the main focus on the structure of the nanofillers. Much less effort has been devoted to unraveling the factors controlling the structure of the grafted chains. Herein, through coarse-grained molecular-dynamics simulations, we have successfully fabricated an ideal, mechanically-interlocked composite structure composed of end-functionalized chains grafted to the nanoparticle surface forming rings and making the matrix chains thread through these rings. Depending on the details of the grafting, the reinforcement effect can be remarkable, improving the tensile stress of the system significantly up to 700%. Meanwhile, anisotropy of the system's mechanical response is also observed. Furthermore, the influence of the grafted chain distribution on the mechanical properties of the system has been investigated as well. We observe that the mechanical properties of the system are closely related to the total number of the beads in the grafted chains or the synergistic effect between the length and density of the grafted chains leads to no significant difference in the performance of systems. At constant grafting density, the mechanical properties of the systems correlate negatively to the grafted chain length. In general, our study should help to design and fabricate high-performance PNCs with excellent mechanical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naishen Gao
- Key Laboratory of Beijing City on Preparation and Processing of Novel Polymer Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, People's Republic of China
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8
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Nakamura I, Shock CJ, Eggart L, Gao T. Theoretical Aspects of Ionic Liquids for Soft‐Matter Sciences. Isr J Chem 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ijch.201800143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Issei Nakamura
- Department of PhysicsMichigan Technological University Houghton MI 49931 USA
| | - Cameron J. Shock
- Department of PhysicsMichigan Technological University Houghton MI 49931 USA
| | - Lisa Eggart
- Department of PhysicsMichigan Technological University Houghton MI 49931 USA
| | - Tong Gao
- Department of PhysicsMichigan Technological University Houghton MI 49931 USA
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9
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Brown JR, Seo Y, Hall LM. Ion Correlation Effects in Salt-Doped Block Copolymers. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2018; 120:127801. [PMID: 29694088 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.120.127801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Revised: 12/12/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We apply classical density functional theory to study how salt changes the microphase morphology of diblock copolymers. Polymers are freely jointed and one monomer type favorably interacts with ions, to account for the selective solvation that arises from different dielectric constants of the microphases. By including correlations from liquid state theory of an unbound reference fluid, the theory can treat chain behavior, microphase separation, ion correlations, and preferential solvation, at the same coarse-grained level. We show good agreement with molecular dynamics simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan R Brown
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - Youngmi Seo
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - Lisa M Hall
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
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10
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Brown JR, Seo Y, Sides SW, Hall LM. Unique Phase Behavior of Inverse Tapered Block Copolymers: Self-Consistent Field Theory and Molecular Dynamics Simulations. Macromolecules 2017. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.7b00522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan R. Brown
- William
G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 W. Woodruff Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Youngmi Seo
- William
G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 W. Woodruff Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Scott W. Sides
- Tech-X Corporation, 5621 Arapahoe Ave. Suite A, Boulder, Colorado 80303, United States
| | - Lisa M. Hall
- William
G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 W. Woodruff Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
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11
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Levine WG, Seo Y, Brown JR, Hall LM. Effect of sequence dispersity on morphology of tapered diblock copolymers from molecular dynamics simulations. J Chem Phys 2017; 145:234907. [PMID: 28010074 DOI: 10.1063/1.4972141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Tapered diblock copolymers are similar to typical AB diblock copolymers but have an added transition region between the two blocks which changes gradually in composition from pure A to pure B. This tapered region can be varied from 0% (true diblock) to 100% (gradient copolymer) of the polymer length, and this allows some control over the microphase separated domain spacing and other material properties. We perform molecular dynamics simulations of linearly tapered block copolymers with tapers of various lengths, initialized from fluids density functional theory predictions. To investigate the effect of sequence dispersity, we compare systems composed of identical polymers, whose taper has a fixed sequence that most closely approximates a linear gradient, with sequentially disperse polymers, whose sequences are created statistically to yield the appropriate ensemble average linear gradient. Especially at high segregation strength, we find clear differences in polymer conformations and microstructures between these systems. Importantly, the statistical polymers are able to find more favorable conformations given their sequence, for instance, a statistical polymer with a larger fraction of A than the median will tend towards the A lamellae. The conformations of the statistically different polymers can thus be less stretched, and these systems have higher overall density. Consequently, the lamellae formed by statistical polymers have smaller domain spacing with sharper interfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- William G Levine
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 W. Woodruff Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - Youngmi Seo
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 W. Woodruff Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - Jonathan R Brown
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 W. Woodruff Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
| | - Lisa M Hall
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 W. Woodruff Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
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12
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Seo Y, Brown JR, Hall LM. Diffusion of Selective Penetrants in Interfacially Modified Block Copolymers from Molecular Dynamics Simulations. ACS Macro Lett 2017; 6:375-380. [PMID: 35610859 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.7b00023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
To show the influence of the interface on structure and dynamics of microphase separated polymer systems, we study interfacially modified AB block copolymers with small molecule penetrants. The polymers have a random midblock or tapered midblock whose composition varies from pure A to pure B (or from pure B to pure A for an inverse taper) between two pure blocks of A and B. We perform simple coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations of symmetric polymers that form lamellae. With normal tapering, both polymer and penetrant diffusion parallel to the lamellae increases as taper length increases. Inverse tapered polymers exist in different conformational states (e.g., stretched vs folded back and forth across the interface) with different dynamic behavior, leading to nonmonotonic trends in their diffusion. However, the local mixing of monomers (rather than polymer conformation) appears to be the most important factor in determining penetrant diffusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youngmi Seo
- William G. Lowrie Department
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Jonathan R. Brown
- William G. Lowrie Department
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Lisa M. Hall
- William G. Lowrie Department
of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, 151 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
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13
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Morris MA, Gartner TE, Epps TH. Tuning Block Polymer Structure, Properties, and Processability for the Design of Efficient Nanostructured Materials Systems. MACROMOL CHEM PHYS 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/macp.201600513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Melody A. Morris
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering University of Delaware Newark DE 19716 USA
| | - Thomas E. Gartner
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering University of Delaware Newark DE 19716 USA
| | - Thomas H. Epps
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering University of Delaware Newark DE 19716 USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering University of Delaware Newark DE 19716 USA
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14
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Gooneie A, Schuschnigg S, Holzer C. A Review of Multiscale Computational Methods in Polymeric Materials. Polymers (Basel) 2017; 9:E16. [PMID: 30970697 PMCID: PMC6432151 DOI: 10.3390/polym9010016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2016] [Revised: 12/07/2016] [Accepted: 12/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Polymeric materials display distinguished characteristics which stem from the interplay of phenomena at various length and time scales. Further development of polymer systems critically relies on a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of their hierarchical structure and behaviors. As such, the inherent multiscale nature of polymer systems is only reflected by a multiscale analysis which accounts for all important mechanisms. Since multiscale modelling is a rapidly growing multidisciplinary field, the emerging possibilities and challenges can be of a truly diverse nature. The present review attempts to provide a rather comprehensive overview of the recent developments in the field of multiscale modelling and simulation of polymeric materials. In order to understand the characteristics of the building blocks of multiscale methods, first a brief review of some significant computational methods at individual length and time scales is provided. These methods cover quantum mechanical scale, atomistic domain (Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics), mesoscopic scale (Brownian dynamics, dissipative particle dynamics, and lattice Boltzmann method), and finally macroscopic realm (finite element and volume methods). Afterwards, different prescriptions to envelope these methods in a multiscale strategy are discussed in details. Sequential, concurrent, and adaptive resolution schemes are presented along with the latest updates and ongoing challenges in research. In sequential methods, various systematic coarse-graining and backmapping approaches are addressed. For the concurrent strategy, we aimed to introduce the fundamentals and significant methods including the handshaking concept, energy-based, and force-based coupling approaches. Although such methods are very popular in metals and carbon nanomaterials, their use in polymeric materials is still limited. We have illustrated their applications in polymer science by several examples hoping for raising attention towards the existing possibilities. The relatively new adaptive resolution schemes are then covered including their advantages and shortcomings. Finally, some novel ideas in order to extend the reaches of atomistic techniques are reviewed. We conclude the review by outlining the existing challenges and possibilities for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Gooneie
- Chair of Polymer Processing, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Otto Gloeckel-Strasse 2, 8700 Leoben, Austria.
| | - Stephan Schuschnigg
- Chair of Polymer Processing, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Otto Gloeckel-Strasse 2, 8700 Leoben, Austria.
| | - Clemens Holzer
- Chair of Polymer Processing, Montanuniversitaet Leoben, Otto Gloeckel-Strasse 2, 8700 Leoben, Austria.
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Lytle TK, Radhakrishna M, Sing CE. High Charge Density Coacervate Assembly via Hybrid Monte Carlo Single Chain in Mean Field Theory. Macromolecules 2016. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.6b02159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Mithun Radhakrishna
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
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16
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Luo M, Brown JR, Remy RA, Scott DM, Mackay ME, Hall LM, Epps TH. Determination of Interfacial Mixing in Tapered Block Polymer Thin Films: Experimental and Theoretical Investigations. Macromolecules 2016. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.6b00946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jonathan R. Brown
- William
G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | | | | | | | - Lisa M. Hall
- William
G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
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