Polymer‐regulated pattern formation in pseudo‐2D arrays of a fullerene derivative at the solution—Air interface |
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| Authors: | Shani Eliyahu Chunlai Ren Igal Szleifer Rachel Yerushalmi‐Rozen |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben‐Gurion University of the Negev, 84105 Beer‐Sheva, Israel;2. National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China;3. Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, Illinois 60208;4. The Ilze Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology, Ben‐Gurion University of the Negev, 84105 Beer‐Sheva, Israel |
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| Abstract: | Self‐assembly of nanoparticles (NPs) into nonclose‐packed (ncp), semi‐two‐dimensional (2D) arrays is of interest in a variety of applications. Of special interest are photochemically active surfactant‐like fullerene derivatives 6,6]‐phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The study presented here characterizes the morphology and structure of patterns formed by a mixture of PCBM NP and an amphiphilic block‐copolymer tethered at the water–air interface (a surface brush) as a function of the concentration of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) dissolved in the liquid subphase. Theoretical modeling of the system shows that the concentration of PEO in the subphase mediates the dimensions of the surface brush and at high PEO concentrations induces a collapse of the brush at the solution–air interface. The state of the surface brush is suggested to tune the semi‐2D patterns observed in the experiments via lateral depletion interactions and, in particular, induce lateral phase separation of the PCBM‐block copolymer. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011 |
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| Keywords: | depletion fullerenes molecular conformation nanoparticles poly(ethylene oxide) polymer brush polymer layers self‐assembly surface activity |
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