Spherical/gyroid phase diagram of the diblock copolymer in the median selective solvent

The effect of the median selective solution on the lamellar, spherical and gyroid structures is studied. The self-consistent field equations of the diblock copolymer solution are solved by using the reciprocal space method. It is shown that the spherical and gyroid phases have the lowest free energy in the certain range of the solution concentration. Furthermore, the phase diagram of the ordered structures in the diblock copolymer solution with the median selective solvent is calculated, which is consistent with the experimental results. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10834014, 10674173, and 30770517) and the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2009CB930704)     

Nanoscopic surface patterns of diblock copolymer thin films

The surface topography of thin diblock copolymer films is studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). With AFM an island-to-ribbon transition is observed for symmetric polystyrene-b-poly (4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) on mica with increasing solution concentration. Our study also demonstrates how the formation of the pattern strongly depends on the copolymer composition based on the volume fraction. The substrate and solvent used both have great effects on the morphology of the thin films. Only by using highly polar substrate (mica), can we gain regular pattern. The reason why the regular islands cannot be obtained with symmetric PS-b-P4VP on graphite is also explained. On mica using nonselective and selective solvents, a rather regular pattern can be obtained. The difference is only in the solution concentration for forming regular patterns.     

Self—assembly behaviour of amphiphilic diblock copolymer in selective solvents studied by synchrotron small—angle x—ray scattering

The aggregation behaviour of styrene-vinyl benzoic acid (PS_m-b-PVBA_n) amphiphilic diblock copolymers in selective solvents with different m and n was investigated by synchrotron small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). We have carried out a detailed analysis of scattering intensity, dimension, shape and microstructure of the diblock copolymers of narrow distribution in water, methanol, ethanol and isopropanol selective solvents, respectively. We have found that the aggregation behaviour of the copolymer depends on the nature of the solvent and the micelle forms flat disc objects with the ratio of radius ω=0.4. The average radius gyration R_g of the copolymer decreases as solvents change from isopropanol to ethanol and to methanol, and increases with increasing pH in aqueous solution, but decreases with the addition of CoCl_2 in ethanol solvent. The scattering intensity of diblock copolymer micelle follows I(h)∝h^{-α} in different selective solutions, suggesting that the PS_m-b-PVBA_n coils have self-similar structure behaviour or a fractal structure in the selective solvents. All of these revealed that the aggregation behaviour of the diblock copolymer changes dramatically with experimental condition in the selective solvent. The increase of mass fractal dimension (D_m) from 2.12 to 2.47 indicates that the copolymer chain changes from a swollen coil to a rather compact disc in the course of changing solvents, decreasing surface fractal dimension (D_s) from 2.98 to 2.58 indicates that the copolymer micelle change from a rather rough surface to a smooth form in the course of increasing pH in aqueous solutions, and increasing D_m and D_s from 2.29 to 2.35 and 2.70 to 2.90, respectively, indicates the shrinkage of copolymer micelle to a rather compact and rough disc form by adding CoCl_2 in ethanol solvents.     

Microphase separation in melts of diblock copolymers with nonlinear architecture

The microphase separation in the incompressible melt of a diblock copolymer the macromolecules of which are comprised of a linear A-block and a three-arm star-like B-block is studied. The phase diagrams of the melt was constructed at various values of the chemical structure parameters of macromolecules for both the monodisperse and polydisperse variants of the model. In the latter case, the number of monomer units in the linear block is described by the Flory distribution. In comparison with the monodisperse variant, the polydispersity of macromolecules in the melt leads to increases in the temperature of transition to an ordered state and in the period of the mesophases of melt and substantially changes the positions of the boundaries of stability of the mesophases.     

Calculation of phase diagrams for solid solutions of ferroelectrics

The integral equations for calculating ferroelectric and antiferroelectric phase transition temperatures, order parameters, and critical concentrations of solid solution components are derived. The electric dipoles randomly distributed in the system are treated as sources of random fields. The random field distribution function is constructed taking into account the contribution of nonlinear effects and the differences in the dipole orientations for different solid solution components. The dependence of the phase transition temperature on the composition of a binary solid solution in the ferroelectric-antiferroelectric and ferroelectric-paraelectric systems is calculated. Numerical calculations are carried out for the PbTi_xZr_1?x O₃ and BaZr_xTi_1?x O₃ solid solutions. The results obtained are in good agreement with the experimental phase diagrams of these systems. Analysis of the results indicates that any solid solution containing ferroelectric (antiferroelectric) and paraelectric components transforms into a relaxor state at sufficiently high concentrations of the paraelectric component.     

Influence of the polydispersity of side chains on the phase behavior of multigraft copolymers

Weak segregation theory is applied to studying the phase behavior of a melt of a binary multigraft copolymer with polydisperse side chains regularly spaced along the backbone. The resulting phase diagrams of the melt show an increase of the temperature of transition to an ordered state with increasing coefficient of polydispersity of side chains. The effects of the average length of the side chains and the distance between the points of their grafting on the phase diagram of the melt are examined.     

Monte Carlo phase diagram for diblock copolymer melts

The phase diagram for diblock copolymer melts is evaluated from lattice-based Monte Carlo simulations using parallel tempering, improving upon earlier simulations that used sequential temperature scans. This new approach locates the order-disorder transition (ODT) far more accurately by the occurrence of a sharp spike in the heat capacity. The present study also performs a more thorough investigation of finite-size effects, which reveals that the gyroid (G) morphology spontaneously forms in place of the perforated-lamellar (PL) phase identified in the earlier study. Nevertheless, there still remains a small region where the PL phase appears to be stable. Interestingly, the lamellar (L) phase next to this region exhibits a small population of transient perforations, which may explain previous scattering experiments suggesting a modulated-lamellar (ML) phase.     

A2B嵌段共聚物熔体的相分离

采用自洽场的方法对A2B共聚物熔体作了类似星形共聚物的处理，研究了该共聚物的相分离并给出了相图．与两嵌段共聚物的相图相比较而言，在A2B的相图中，只发现了三个经典的有序相：球状相、六角蜂窝形柱状相以及层状相．从两嵌段线形共聚物到Y形共聚物这一链结构上的变化使相图也发生了相应的改变：各相的相边界发生了很大的偏移并且层状相出现的区域被大大的拓宽了．因此，可以通过改变链的结构来控制高分子自组装的微相结构，从而代替传统的改变高分子链中各组分的比例．     

Diblock and triblock copolymer thin films on a substrate with controlled selectivity

Using self-consistent field theory (SCFT), morphology development in symmetric linear ABC triblock copolymer films on neutral and selective substrates has been studied, and it is compared with the triblock copolymer morphologies in bulk. In particular, the effects of the substrate preferable to B (interior) block on nanopattern formation of the copolymer films are of our central interest. Here, we report various nanopatterns with tunable square morphologies. The domain patterns are much more diverse than those parallel to the substrate with substrate selectivity for end-block or those vertical to the substrate without substrate selectivity. Furthermore, in order to figure out an economical and efficient way to fabricate useful passive pattern transfer layers, which have potential applications in microelectronic processes and ultrahigh density storage media, we propose a two-step strategy and scrutinize the conditions for generating square symmetries using cylinder-forming or lamella-forming AB diblock copolymers deposited on substrates created from ABC triblock copolymer films. It is found that a thinner film with weak incompatibility can produce square patterns.     

Dynamic phase transition of ferroelectric nanotube described by a spin-1/2 transverse Ising model

The dynamic phase transition properties for ferroelectric nanotube under a spin-1/2 transverse Ising model are studied under the effective field theory(EFT)with correlations.The temperature effects on the pseudo-spin systems are unveiled in three-dimensional(3-D)and two-dimensional(2-D)phase diagrams.Moreover,the dynamic behaviors of exchange interactions on the 3-D and 2-D phase transitions under high temperature are exhibited.The results present that it is hard to obtain pure ferroelectric phase under high temperature;that is,the vibration of orderly pseudo-spins cannot be eliminated completely.     

Effects of compositional asymmetry in phase behavior of ABA triblock copolymer melts from Monte Carlo simulation

We simulate ABA triblock copolymer melts using a lattice Monte Carlo method, known as cooperative motion algorithm, probing various degrees of compositional asymmetry. Selected order-disorder transition lines are determined in terms of the segment incompatibility, quantified by product χN , and the triblock asymmetry parameters, α and β. We correlate the results of the simulation with the self-consistent field theory and an experimental study of polyisoprene-polystyrene-polyisoprene triblock melt by Hamersky and coworkers. In particular, we confirm the mean-field prediction that for highly asymmetric triblocks the short A -block is localized in the middle of the B -domain due to an entropic advantage. This results in the middle block relaxation and is consistent with the experimental data indicating that as the relatively short A -blocks are grown into AB diblock, from the B -block side, the order-disorder transition temperature is considerably depressed.     

参数修改对铁电薄膜相变性质的影响

在关联有效场理论的框架内, 利用微分算子技术, 详细地计算了基于横场伊辛模型描述的对称铁电薄膜系统的相变性质. 根据薄膜各层自旋平均值构成的一系列耦合方程, 推导出可以用来计算任意层的具有不同表面层的薄膜相图的解析通式方程, 讨论了参数修改对薄膜相互作用参数从FPD (铁电相占主导地位的相图)到PPD (顺电相占主导地位的相图)过渡值和参数空间中各相变区域的影响. 在与平均场近似进行比较的结果显示, 关联有效场理论所得到的铁电薄膜的铁电性在某种程度上比平均场近似下的结果减弱. 关键词： 铁电薄膜 横场伊辛模型 相图 居里温度     

Thermoreversible,epitaxial fcc<-->bcc transitions in block copolymer solutions

Uncharged block copolymer micelles display thermoreversible transitions between close-packed and bcc lattices for a range of concentration, solvent selectivity, and copolymer composition. Using small-angle x-ray scattering on shear-oriented solutions, highly aligned fcc crystals are seen to transform epitaxially to bcc crystals, with fcc/bcc orientational relationships that are well established in martensitic transformations in metals. The transition is driven by decreasing solvent selectivity with increasing temperature, inducing solvent penetration of the micellar core.     

Magnetic phase transitions and phase diagrams of DyMn2Ge2

The experimental studies of magnetic phase transitions in the layered tetragonal intermetallic compound DyMn₂Ge₂ are continued. The existence of spontaneous phase transitions is confirmed by the results of measurements of the temperature dependences of lattice parameters and the initial magnetic susceptibility. The measurements in strong (up to 50 T) and ultrastrong (up to 150 T) fields revealed two new field-induced magnetic transitions. The inclusion of the exchange interaction between next-to-nearest layers of manganese and the crystal field effects for the rare-earth subsystem along with the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction of nearest Mn layers has made it possible to describe the magnetic properties of DyMn₂Ge₂ in a wide range of magnetic fields. The parameters of these interactions are determined from a comparison of the experimental and theoretical magnetization curves and H-T phase diagrams.     

Orthorhombic Fddd network in triblock and diblock copolymer melts

The phase behavior of ABC triblock and AB diblock copolymer melts is investigated by self-consistent field theory, while allowing for (among other candidates) the orthorhombic Fddd (O70) network phase identified in recent experiments with poly(isoprene-b-styrene-b-ethylene oxide) (ISO) triblocks. Predicted phase diagrams for triblocks similar to ISO contain an O70 phase bordered by gyroid, lamellar, and alternating gyroid phases, in agreement with experiment. The O70 network is also found to be stable in diblock melts within a narrow region that overlaps the weak segregation end of the gyroid region found in previous calculations.     

Superfluid phase diagrams of trapped Fermi gases with population imbalance

We present phase diagrams for population-imbalanced, trapped Fermi superfluids near unitarity. In addition to providing quantitative values for the superfluid transition temperature, the pairing onset temperature, and the transition line (separating the Sarma and phase separation regimes), we study experimental signatures of these transitions based on density profiles and density differences at the center. Predictions on the BCS side of resonance show unexpected behavior, which should be searched for experimentally.     

Cylindrical-confinement-induced phase behaviours of diblock copolymer melts

The phase behaviours of diblock copolymers under cylindrical confinement are studied in two-dimensional space by using the self-consistent field theory. Several phase parameters are adjusted to investigate the cylindrical-confinement-induced phase behaviours of diblock copolymers. A series of lamella-cylinder mixture phases, such as the mixture of broken-lamellae and cylinders and the mixture of square-lamellae and cylinders, are observed by varying the phase parameters, in which the behaviours of these mixture phases are discussed in the corresponding phase diagrams. Fur-thermore, the free energies of these mixture phases are investigated to illustrate their evolution processes. Our results are compared with the available observations from the experiments and simulations respectively, and they are in good agreement and provide an insight into the phase behaviours under cylindrical confinement.     

Dynamic phase transitions and dynamic phase diagrams of the spin-2 Blume-Capel model under an oscillating magnetic field within the effective-field theory

The dynamic phase transitions are studied in the kinetic spin-2 Blume-Capel model under a time-dependent oscillating magnetic field using the effective-field theory with correlations. The effective-field dynamic equation for the average magnetization is derived by employing the Glauber transition rates and the phases in the system are obtained by solving this dynamic equation. The nature (first- or second-order) of the dynamic phase transition is characterized by investigating the thermal behavior of the dynamic magnetization and the dynamic phase transition temperatures are obtained. The dynamic phase diagrams are constructed in the reduced temperature and magnetic field amplitude plane and are of seven fundamental types. Phase diagrams contain the paramagnetic (P), ferromagnetic-2 (F₂) and three coexistence or mixed phase regions, namely the F₂+P, F₁+P and F₂+F₁+P, which strongly depend on the crystal-field interaction (D) parameter. The system also exhibits the dynamic tricritical behavior.     

Dynamic phase transitions in the kinetic mixed spin-1/2 and spin-5/2 Ising model under a time-dependent oscillating magnetic field

We calculate the dynamic phase transition (DPT) temperatures and present the dynamic phase diagrams in the kinetic mixed spin-1/2 and spin-5/2 Ising model under the presence of a time-dependent oscillating external magnetic field. We employ the Glauber transition rates to construct the set of mean-field dynamic equations. The time variation of the average magnetizations and the thermal behavior of the dynamic magnetizations are investigated, extensively. The nature (continuous or discontinuous) of the transitions is characterized by studying the thermal behaviors of the dynamic magnetizations. The DPT points are obtained and the phase diagrams are presented in two different planes. Phase diagrams contain four fundamental phases and three coexistence or mixed phases, which strongly depend on interaction parameters. The phase diagrams are discussed and a comparison is made with the results of the other mixed spin Ising systems.     

Dynamic properties of phase diagram in cylindrical ferroelectric nanotubes

The dynamic properties of phase diagrams in cylindrical ferroelectric nanotubes were investigated by utilizing the effective-field theory with correlations. Three different structure mechanisms are discussed by performing three different interaction functions. Effects of structure factors of the ferroelectric nanotubes are shown in phase diagrams. A linear relation between the crossover value of transverse field in inner-layer of nanotube and the exchange interaction are revealed. Moreover, for the first time, the phase transition characteristics are shown both in 2-D and 3-D phase diagrams by comparing the variations of the ferroelectric region and the morphology vividly. In comparison, results of the usual mean-field approximation are also presented in some phase diagrams, it suggest that the differential operator technique with correlations reduces some extent of the ferroelectric features of the ferroelectric nanotube.