Self-Seeding Procedure for Obtaining Stacked Block Copolymer Lamellar Crystals in Solution

Block Copolymers with Crystallizable Blocks: Synthesis, Self-Assembly and Applications

Block copolymers with crystallizable blocks are a highly interesting class of materials owing to their unique self-assembly behaviour both in bulk and solution. This Special Issue brings together new developments in the synthesis and self-assembly of semicrystalline block copolymers and also addresses potential applications of these exciting materials.

Structure/Properties Relationship of Anionically Synthesized Diblock Copolymers "Grafted to" Chemically Modified Graphene

A novel approach to obtaining nanocomposite materials using anionic sequential polymerization and post-synthetic esterification reactions with chemically modified graphene sheets (CMGs) is reported. The anionically synthesized diblock copolymer precursors of the PS-b-PI-OH type were grafted to the chemically modified –COOH groups of the CMGs, giving rise to the final composite materials, namely polystyrene-b-poly(isoprene)-g-CMGs, which exhibited enhanced physicochemical properties. The successful synthesis was determined through multiple molecular characterization techniques together with thermogravimetric analysis for the verification of increased thermal stability, and the structure/properties relationship was justified through transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, the arrangement of CMGs utilizing lamellar and cylindrical morphologies was studied in order to determine the effect of the loaded CMGs in the adopted topologies.