The BAB‐type triblock copolymers composed of a central poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO, M̄nPEO = 1 000) block and two poly[(D ,L ‐lactic acid)‐co‐(glycolic acid)] end blocks with molecular weights between 900 and 1 600 exhibited an interesting phase transition behavior. The copolymer aqueous solution can form micelles with PLGA loops in the core and a PEO shell and groups of micelles because of bridging between micelles caused by the PLGA blocks with raising temperature. A possible micellar gelation mechanism was suggested. 相似文献
While theoretical and experimental efforts have thoroughly addressed microphase‐ordered AB diblock copolymer blends with a parent homopolymer (hA or hB) or a second block copolymer, surprisingly few studies have considered comparable ABA triblock copolymers in the presence of hB or an AB diblock copolymer. In this study, we elucidate the roles of additive molecular weight and constraint by examining three matched series of miscible ABA/hB and ABA/AB blends. Self‐consistent field theory is employed to analyze molecular characteristics, e. g., segmental distributions, microdomain periods and midblock bridging fractions, as functions of blend composition. Predictions are compared to morphological characteristics discerned by transmission electron microscopy and small‐angle X‐ray scattering. The corresponding mechanical properties of these blends are measured by dynamic mechanical analysis. The results of this comprehensive work reveal that addition of hB swells the B‐lamellae of the ABA copolymer and has a generally deleterious effect on both the dynamic elastic modulus and midblock bridging fraction. In contrast, addition of a lamellar or cylindrical AB copolymer to the same ABA copolymer can promote an increase or decrease in lamellar period and bridging fraction, depending on relative block sizes. 相似文献
The self‐assembly of ABC triblock copolymers in the microphase‐separated state is investigated using an isothermal‐isobaric molecular dynamics simulation. For the validation of our simulation scheme, ABA triblock copolymers are also simulated. We examine the effect of the composition (fB) of symmetric triblock copolymers on the morphology realized in these copolymers, keeping other parameters fixed. For ABA triblock copolymers, the transition from lamellar to cylindrical morphologies is observed with increasing the composition from fB = 0.5 to fB = 0.75, and such behavior is supported by calculation results of scattering patterns. These simulated results agree well with experimental and theoretical ones, validating our simulation method. More complex structures are predicted for ABC triblock copolymers. If midblock B is the minor component, its structures are changed from lamellar, cylindrical, to spherical morphology at the interface between A/C lamellae as fB decreases. For ABC triblock copolymers with the midblock B as the major component, the morphology of end blocks in the matrix composed of the midblock is changed from tricontinuous to spherical structures as fB increases. 相似文献
The glass transition behavior of two sets of ABA poly(styrene-b-isoprene) block copolymers was examined by differential scanning calorimetry. In one series, the triblock copolymers had different total molecular weights and the same (30 wt %) polyisoprene content, in the other, the molecular weight was constant (30,000 g/mol) and the elastomer content was the variable. For all triblock copolymers studied, the data show an inward shift for the glass transition temperatures Tg of the corresponding homopolymers. This shift increases for the rigid-phase Tg as the polystyrene block length decreases. Depending on their molecular characteristics, two, three, or only one Tg were found. The third Tg was interpreted in terms of the existence of an interphase. Some of these conclusions could be confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. 相似文献
The adsorption of asymmetrical triblock copolymers from a non-selective solvent on solid surface has been studied by using Scheutjens-Fleer mean-field theory and Monte Carlo simulation method on lattice model. The main aim of this paper is to provide detailed computer simulation data, taking A8-kB20Ak as a key example, to study the influence of the structure of copolymer on adsorption behavior and make a comparison between MC and SF results. The simulated results show that the size distribution of various configurations and density-profile are dependent on molecular structure and adsorption energy. The molecular structure will lead to diversity of adsorption behavior. This discrepancy between different structures would be enlarged for the surface coverage and adsorption amount with increasing of the adsorption energy. The surface coverage and the adsorption amount as well as the bound fraction will become larger as symmetry of the molecular structure becomes gradually worse. The adsorption layer becomes thicker with increasing of symmetry of the molecule when adsorption energy is smaller but it becomes thinner when adsorption energy is higher. It is shown that SF theory can reproduce the adsorption behavior of asymmetrical triblock copolymers. However, systematic discrepancy between the theory and simulation still exists.The approximations inherited in the mean-filed theory such as random mixing and the allowance of direct back folding may be responsible for those deviations. 相似文献
The self‐assembly of two types of linear ABA triblock copolymers confined in cylindrical nanopores is studied using simulated annealing. The effects of pore size and block copolymer chain architecture on morphology, chain conformations and bridging fraction are investigated. For the bulk cylinder‐forming copolymers, novel structures such as helices and stacked toroids form, which depend sensitively on the pore size. Several significant differences between the two types of copolymers are predicted and explained based on the differences in their chain conformations and chain architectures. A simple model is proposed to explain the mean square radius of gyration for the bridge and loop chains.
The self-assembly of linear ABC triblock copolymers under cylindrical confinements is investigated in two-dimensional space using the real-space self-consistent field theory. The effects of confinement degrees and preferential strengths on the triblock copolymer phase behaviors with special polymer parameters are first considered. On one hand, different confinement degrees cause different phase behaviors in nanopores with the neutral surfaces. Moreover, the strongly preferential surface fields can surpass the confinement degrees and volume fractions in determing the confined phase behaviors. On the other hand, in contrast, confined morphologies are more sensitive to the variations in the A-preferential surface field strength. Subsequently, the incompatibility degrees between different blocks are systematically varied under cylindrical nanopore confinements. Under cylindrical nanopore confinements, the morphologies are very sensitive to the variations in the incompatibility degrees. Meanwhile, nanopore confinements can affect order-disorder and order-order transition points in the bulk. The corresponding free, internal, and entropic energies as well as the order parameters are also quantificationally examined to deeply investigate the confined phase mechanisms, and a number of morphological transitions are confirmed to be of first-order. These findings may guide the design of novel nanostructures based on triblock copolymers by introducing confinements. 相似文献
We have recently prepared a series of Polystyrene-b-Poly(ethylene oxide)-b-Polycaprolactone (PS-b-PEO-b-PCL or SEOCL) triblock copolymers of varying compositions and molecular weights. These ABC triblock copolymers present the peculiarity that two of the three blocks are able to crystallize upon cooling from an already phase segregated melt. When either of the crystallizable blocks or both are a minor phase, a fractionated crystallization process develops. The confinement of crystallizable blocks in the nanoscopic scale enables the clear observation in some cases of exclusive crystallization from homogeneous nuclei of two components within the triblock copolymer. The homogeneous nature of the nucleation was deduced since the supercooling attained is the maximum possible before vitrification of the material takes place. The self-nucleation domains were also found to depend on the composition and molecular weight of the copolymers. The block copolymers exhibited a marked decrease in crystalline memory and when the crystallizable blocks constitute minor phases, the self-nucleation domain disappears. The reason behind this behavior is that only at lower self-nucleation temperatures the density of self-nuclei becomes high enough to include at least one crystal fragment per confined microdomain in view of their vast numbers (e.g., 1016/cm3). 相似文献
By using Monte Carlo simulation, adsorption of both end-adsorbed and middle-adsorbed symmetric triblock copolymers from a non-selective solvent on an impenetrable surface has been studied. Influences of the adsorption energy, the bulk concentration, the chain composition and the chain length on the adsorption behavior including the surface coverage, the adsorption amount and the layer thickness are presented. It is shown that the total surface coverage for both end-adsorbed and middle-adsorbed copolymers increases monotonically as the bulk concentration increases. The higher the adsorption energy and the more the attractive segments, the higher the total surface coverage is exhibited. Surface coverage θ decreases with increasing the length of the non-attractive segments, but the product of θ and the proportion of the non-attractive segments in a triblock copolymer chain is nearly independent of the chain length. The adsorption amount increases almost monotonically with the bulk concentration. The logarithm of the adsorption amount is a linear function of the reciprocal of the reduced temperature. When the adsorption energy is large, the adsorption amount exhibits a maximum as the composition of the attractive segment increases. The adsorption isotherms of copolymers with different length of the non-attractive segments can be mapped onto a single curve under certain energy indicating that copolymers with different chain length have the same adsorption amount. The adsorption layer thickness for the end-adsorbed copolymers decreases as the energy and the number of adsorbing segments increases. The longer non-attractive segments, the larger adsorbed layer thickness is found. The tails mainly governs the adsorption layer thickness. 相似文献
Summary: Monte Carlo simulation on a simple lattice model has been used to study the adsorption of asymmetrical triblock copolymers from a non‐selective solvent at the solid‐liquid interface. The size distributions of train, loop and tail configurations for those copolymers are obtained as well as other details of the adsorption layer microstructure. Also the influence of adsorption energy and the role of molecular symmetry are investigated. A segment‐density profile, the adsorption amount, the surface coverage, and the adsorption layer thickness have been determined. Finally, it is shown that the adsorption behavior of an asymmetrical copolymer can be predicted from the symmetrical copolymer.
Size distributions of the tail configuration for A8−kB20Ak. 相似文献
Synthesis of novel triblock, polycaprolactone-b-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and poly(2-ethyl-oxazoline)-b-PDMS copolymers were demonstrated. These materials were obtained via the ring-opening polymerization of ?-caprolactone or 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline monomers by using organofunctionally terminated PDMS oligomers as initiators and comonomers. Segment molecular weights in these copolymers were varied over a wide range between 1000 and 2000 g/mol and the formation of copolymers with desired backbone compositions were monitored by 1H-NMR spectroscopy and GPC. DSC and TMA studies showed the formation of two phase morphologies with PDMS (Tg, ?120°C) and polycaprolactone (Tm, 50–60°C) or poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (Tg, 40-60°C) transitions respectively. The use of polycaprolactone-b-PDMS copolymers as surface modifying additives in polymer blends were also investigated. When these copolymers were blended at low levels (0.25–10.0% by weight) with various commercial resins such as, polyurethanes, PVC, PMMA, and PET, the resulting systems displayed silicone-like, hydrophobic surface properties, as determined by critical surface tension measurements or water contact angles. The effect of siloxane content, block length, base polymer type and morphology on the resulting surfaces are discussed. 相似文献