Orientation fluctuations in diblock copolymers

Depolarized light scattering and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy reveal pertinent composition fluctuations effects on the orientation dynamics in diblock copolymers near the ordering transition (ODT). The main evidence stems from the broadening of the block relaxation function and collective chain orientation in the disordered state near ODT as well as a slow relaxation process below ODT.     

Diffusion,rheology, and flow birefringence in block copolymer liquids near the ordering transition

Measurements of the diffusion and relaxation of block copolymer chains near the order-disorder transition (ODT) are reported. Forced Rayleigh scattering has been used to determine the diffusivities parallel and perpendicular to the lamellar planes, for poly(ethylene-propylene)-poly(ethylethylene) (PEP-PEE) melts. The anisotropy is relatively weak (i.e., less than a factor of 4), but increases steadily as temperature is decreased. Rheology and flow birefringence have been employed to examine the conformational dynamics in block copolymer solutions. For PEP-PEE in squalane, the stress-optic relation is approximately valid, but the stress-optic coefficient increases in the ordered state. The location of the ODT is consistent with the dilution approximation. For polystyrene-polyisoprene (PS-PI) diblock and triblock copolymers, the stress-optic relation fails completely. There is evidence that the fluctuation regime (i.e., in the disordered state but near the ODT) may be considerably broader in block copolymer solutions than in melts. Furthermore, the onset of structure in the solution is accompanied by substantial form birefringence. In general, the optical signals are more complicated than the Theological ones, but also much more sensitive to small changes in temperature or concentration.     

Tracer diffusion in fluctuating block copolymer melts

We present a theoretical investigation of the tracer diffusion of diblock copolymers and homopolymers in a thermally fluctuating block copolymer melt above the order-disorder transition (ODT) temperature. Entanglement effects and differences in monomeric friction coefficients are ignored; hence, the theory should be most applicable to short copolymers with rheologically similar blocks. Overall, we find that the diffusion rates of both tracer block copolymers and homopolymers in a block copolymer melt are suppressed when compared with diffusivities in a strictly homogeneous medium with the same average composition. This mobility suppression is due to thermally excited composition fluctuations in block copolymer melts near the ODT; the latter result in transient potential barriers to diffusion. We explore the dependence of the tracer diffusion coefficient on molecular weights and compositions of both matrix and tracer, as well as temperature. A comparison of our theoretical predictions to recent experiments by T. Lodge and coworkers shows qualitative agreement. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

共聚物组成对线形苯乙烯-丁二烯-苯乙烯嵌段共聚物粘弹弛豫与相形态的影响

研究了不同组成的苯乙烯-丁二烯-苯乙烯嵌段共聚物(SBS)的相形态与粘弹弛豫.用透射电子显微镜(TEM)表征了SBS的形态,结果显示,几种SBS均呈层状结构,随着苯乙烯含量的降低,聚苯乙烯(PS)相的尺寸稍有减小,而聚丁二烯(PB)相尺寸明显增大.用动态流变学方法考察了不同温度下SBS嵌段大分子的弛豫行为,结果表明,苯乙烯含量减少,PS相玻璃化转变和有序-无序转变温度均降低;苯乙烯含量少的,在有序-无序转变过程中呈现出高且宽的损耗峰,表明有序-无序转变过程中能量的耗散主要由两相溶合时分子链间的内摩擦所决定,分子链越长,内摩擦越大,能量耗散越大.     

MULTI-SCALES RELAXATION PROCESSES OF SHORT FIBER OF NEMATIC LIQUID CRYSTALLINE COPOLYMER IN POLYCARBONATE MATRIX

Multi-scales relaxation processes of short fiber of a nematic liquid crystalline copolymer(LCP)in polycarbonate matrix were investigated.First,the structure relaxation of LCP was studied by rheology.The relaxation spectrum of the nematic liquid crystalline copolymer at 295℃was calculated from the combined dynamic modulus.There are three kinds of relaxation mechanisms for nematic liquid crystalline copotymer:the relaxation of chain orientation,the relaxation of deformed polydomains and the coalescence of ...     

Monte Carlo simulation on symmetric ABA/AB copolymer blends in confined thin films

The effects of blend composition on morphology, order-disorder transition (ODT), and chain conformation of symmetric ABA/AB copolymer blends confined between two neutral hard walls have been investigated by lattice Monte Carlo simulation. Only lamellar structure is observed in all the simulation morphologies under thermodynamic equilibrium state, which is supported by theoretical prediction. When the composition of AB diblock copolymer (phi) increases, both lamellar spacing and the corresponding ODT temperature increase, which can be attributed to the variation of conformation distribution of the diblock and the triblock copolymer chains. In addition, both diblock and triblock copolymer, chains with bridge conformation extend dramatically in the direction parallel to the surface when the system is in ordered state. Finally, the copolymer chain conformation depends strongly on both the blend composition and the incompatibility parameter chiN.     

Monte-carlo simulations of the order–disorder transition depression in ABA triblock copolymers with a short terminal block

Although most ABA triblock copolymers are molecularly symmetric (i.e., the terminal blocks possess the same mass), molecularly asymmetric A1BA2 triblock copolymers are of greater fundamental interest in that they can be used to explore the transition from diblock to triblock copolymer in systematic fashion. In this study, we use a lattice Monte Carlo method known as the cooperative motion algorithm to simulate molten ABA triblock copolymers possessing a short terminal block to explore the effect of molecular asymmetry on the copolymer order–disorder transition (ODT). Reduced ODT temperatures, discerned by simultaneously analyzing several features of the simulation results, are found to compare favorably with experimental data. Of particular interest here is the initial depression in the ODT temperature for A1BA2 copolymers possessing a relatively short terminal (A2) block. This signature feature is successfully captured by the simulations and is found to be strongly dependent on composition, but weakly dependent on copolymer chain length. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013     

Anisotropy of the dielectric relaxation of a crystalline polymer

A theory which relates the change in the strength of absorption to the change in crystal orientation function is presented for the anisotropy of dielectric relaxation for the dipolar orientation change in an oriented crystalline polymer. Experimental measurements are presented for the α dielectric absorption of a stretched ethylene–carbon monoxide copolymer and compared with the orientation of crystals of this copolymer as determined by x-ray diffraction.     

Thermal Effect on Positive Patterned Self-Assembled Monolayer Grown from a Droplet of Alkanethiol

Atomic force microscope technique is widely used for the spatial narrow deposition of molecules inside the bare space of preexisting self-assembled monolayer (SAM) matrix. Using molecular dynamics simulation, we studied the formation of positively patterned SAM from a globule of 1-octadecanethiol (ODT) on predesigned SAM matrix of 1-dodecanethiol (DDT) and effect of temperature on it. The alkyl chains of ODT SAM were densely packed and ordered by means of chemisorption through sulfur atoms. The circular SAM of ODT contained defects due to the molecules those were standing upside down or trapped inside ODT SAM. We found that with the increase of temperature, these defects moved out by flipping of inverted ODT molecules or building spaces to be adsorbed on Au surface. The ODT molecules on the top of the pile of stable circular SAM or those are upside down and trapped disperse in a unique fashion namely serial pushing through which molecules firstly make a free space to enter inside the adsorbed thiol molecules and then push neighboring molecules to get enough space to be adsorbed on the gold surface. The stability of ODT SAM was confirmed by analyzing different structural properties such as tilt angle, tilt orientation. and backbone orientation. We also calculated the diffusion coefficient of the ODT molecules which were on the top of SAM island. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Continuous Thermodynamic Integration in Field‐Theoretic Simulations of Structured Polymers

This work explores the use of continuous thermodynamic integration in field‐theoretic simulations of a symmetric diblock copolymer melt. Free energies of the lamellar and disorder phases are evaluated by thermodynamic integration from a reference state (an Einstein crystal, λ = 0) to a diblock copolymer (λ = 1). This is followed by integration over the interaction parameter, χ_b , to locate the order–disorder transition (ODT). Then the equilibrium lamellar spacing and free energy cost of stretching and compressing lamellae are examined. The ODT, lamellar spacing, and compression modulus are consistent with previous calculations, though found faster and more precisely. The above quantities do not depend on simulation box size, suggesting that finite‐size effects are small and simulating two lamellar periods is sufficient to accurately evaluate bulk behavior. Furthermore, the statistical uncertainty in the ODT increases quickly with system size, suggesting that small systems may lead to more precise results.     

Template-directed adsorption of block copolymers on alkanethiol-patterned gold surfaces

Functionalized alkanethiols have been self-assembled on gold to modify the wetting properties of the surface and promote or hinder the adsorption of block copolymers containing both hydrophobic and hydrophilic blocks. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies of spin-coated polyethylene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PE-b-PEO) copolymers on 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHDA)-, octadecanethiol (ODT)-, and 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol (PFDT)-covered surfaces have been performed. In the case of an 80 wt % PEO block copolymer, spin-coating on a gold surface precovered with MHDA results in a polymer film thick enough to completely attenuate Au 4f photoelectrons; spin-coating on the more hydrophobic ODT and PFDT monolayers leads to significantly thinner polymer films and incomplete attenuation of the gold photoelectrons. The opposite results are observed when a 20 wt % PEO block copolymer is used. Angle-resolved XPS studies of the 80 wt % PEO block copolymer spin-coated onto an MHDA-covered surface indicate that the PE blocks of the polymer segregate to the near-surface region, oriented away from the hydrophilic carboxylic acid tails of the monolayers; the surface concentration of PE is further enhanced by annealing at 90 degrees C. Microcontact printing and dip-pen nanolithography have been used to pattern gold surfaces with MHDA, and the surfaces have been backfilled with ODT or PFDT, such that the unpatterned regions of the surface are covered with hydrophobic monolayers. In the case of backfilling with PFDT, spin-coating the 80 wt % PEO copolymer onto these patterned surfaces and subsequent annealing results in the block copolymer preferentially adsorbing on the MHDA-covered regions and forming well-defined patterns that mimic the MHDA pattern, as determined by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Significantly worse patterning, characterized by micron-sized polymer droplets, results when the surface is backfilled with ODT instead of PFDT. Using PFDT and MHDA, polymer features having widths as small as 500 nm have been formed. These studies demonstrate a novel method to pattern block copolymers with nanoscale resolution.     

Double-Gyroid Network Morphology in Tapered Diblock Copolymers

We report the formation of a double-gyroid network morphology in normal-tapered poly(isoprene-b-isoprene/styrene-b-styrene) [P(I-IS-S)] and inverse-tapered poly(isoprene-b- styrene/isoprene-b-styrene) [P(I-SI-S)] diblock copolymers. Our tapered diblock copolymers with overall poly(styrene) volume fractions of 0.65 (normal-tapered) and 0.67 (inverse-tapered), and tapered regions comprising 30 volume percent of the total polymer, were shown to self-assemble into the double-gyroid network morphology through a combination of small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The block copolymers were synthesized by anionic polymerization, where the tapered region between the pure poly(isoprene) and poly(styrene) blocks was generated using a semi-batch feed with programmed syringe pumps. The overall composition of these tapered copolymers lies within the expected network-forming region for conventional poly(isoprene-b-styrene) [P(I-S)] diblock copolymers. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) clearly demonstrated that the order-disorder transition temperatures (T(ODT)'s) of the network-forming tapered block copolymers were depressed when compared to the T(ODT) of their non-tapered counterpart, with the P(I-SI-S) showing the greater drop in T(ODT). These results indicate that it is possible to manipulate the copolymer composition profile between blocks in a diblock copolymer, allowing significant control over the T(ODT), while maintaining the ability to form complex network structures.     

分子量多分散性对AB二嵌段共聚物相行为的影响

采用Monte Carlo方法研究了分子量多分散性对AB型嵌段共聚物相行为的影响. 通过调整嵌段共聚物中组分含量, 考察了整体多分散性和单嵌段多分散性对嵌段共聚物共混物的有序-无序转变(Order-disorder transition, ODT)、 形貌及链尺寸的影响. 研究结果表明, 多分散度的增大使无序相向较大χN区域略微移动, 形成的片层结构厚度增加. 在形成微观有序形貌后, 较大分散度时各亚组分的链会得到更大的伸展, 表明分子链堆积受挫的程度减小, 因此, 涨落作用受到的抑制作用减小, 无序相区向更低温度区域移动.     

Monte Carlo phase diagram for diblock copolymer melts

A partial phase diagram is constructed for diblock copolymer melts using lattice-based Monte Carlo simulations. This is done by locating the order-disorder transition (ODT) with the aid of a recently proposed order parameter and identifying the ordered phase over a wide range of copolymer compositions (0.2相似文献   

Single chain conformations in the system of symmetric and asymmetric diblock copolymers

A theory which describes a local structure and global properties of a diblock copolymer melt has been developed in the framework of the one‐loop self‐consistent approximation. We have derived expressions for the sizes of a single diblock macromolecule and its parts. Two different behaviors of single macromolecule conformations in the disordered melt have been obtained depending on the asymmetry of chains and morphologies occurring in ordered states after the order‐disorder transition (ODT). In the nearly symmetric melt, 0.35 < f ⪇ 0.5 (f is a composition), the blocks of both types shrink a little initially as the temperature decreases and then, at some temperature, they begin to swell. In strongly asymmetric melts, f < 0.35, the block of a macromolecule which consists of the monomers of minority type shrinks monotonically, while the other block monotonically swells. We have found nearly Gaussian behavior of the individual blocks and stretching near the chemical bond joining the blocks. Near the ODT the chains are stretched with a magnitude which is of the order of a few percent of their Gaussian sizes. We have calculated the peak position in the scattering curve as a function of the Flory‐Huggins interaction parameter, composition and degree of polymerization. Less then 5% change in the size of copolymer molecules lead to a 25% shift of the scattering peak in comparison to the Gaussian limit. We have found a good quantitative agreement of our theoretical results with the experimental neutron scattering data.     

Orientation and relaxation in uniaxially stretched styrene-co-methyl methacrylate random copolymers

Orientation and relaxation behavior in uniaxially stretched styrene-co-methyl methacrylate random copolymers was investigated. When compared at a reference temperature T = T_g + constant, orientation of methyl methacrylate units (MMA) decreases while styrene units orientation increases with a decrease in the styrene percentage. This behavior can be related to intermolecular interactions between MMA units and to the stiffness of styrene-MMA units, which do not undergo conformational changes upon stretching. Both monomer units relax the same in a given copolymer and chain relaxation increases when the styrene percentage increases. Orientation relaxation of styrene and MMA units can be reduced to two general relaxation master curves whatever the blend composition, when the results are compared at same monomeric friction coefficient. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Substrate interaction effects on order to disorder transition behavior in block copolymer films

We present an overview of the recent progress on the phase transition in the block copolymer (BCP) films in terms of the interfacial interactions effects of the substrates and the χ (Flory-Huggins segmental interaction parameter) effects between the two blocks. For the BCP films thinner than a critical thickness (L_c) above which the transition is independent of film thickness, the order-to-disorder transition (ODT) increased or decreased with decreasing film thickness depending on the interfacial interaction types. The rapid and slow changes in the ODT were attributed to the relative magnitude of enthalpic contribution to χ between two blocks. Interestingly, a periodic amplification in the block composition for the BCP films suppressed the compositional fluctuation in the film geometry, resulting in the ODT shifts from the bulk ODTs above L_c. This effect of the BCP films was more illustrated by the ODT shift effects depending on the strength of the preferential interactions on the substrates. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013     

Ultrafast shock compression of self-assembled monolayers: a molecular picture

Simulations of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are performed to interpret experimental measurements of ultrafast approximately 1 GPa (volume compression deltaV approximately 0.1) planar shock compression dynamics probed by vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy (Lagutchev, A. S.; Patterson, J. E.; Huang, W.; Dlott, D. D. J. Phys. Chem. B 2005, 109, XXXX). The SAMs investigated are octadecanethiol (ODT) and pentadecanethiol (PDT) on Au(111) and Ag(111) substrates, and benzyl mercaptan (BMT) on Au(111). In the alkane SAMs, SFG is sensitive to the instantaneous orientation of the terminal methyl; in BMT it is sensitive to the phenyl orientation. Computed structures of alkane SAMs are in good agreement with experiment. In alkanes, the energies of gauche defects increase with increasing number and depth below the methyl plane, with the exception of ODT/Au where both single and double gauche defects at the two uppermost dihedrals have similar energies. Simulations of isothermal uniaxial compression of SAM lattices show that chain and methyl tilting is predominant in PDT/Au, ODT/Ag and PDT/Ag, whereas single and double gauche defect formation is predominant in ODT/Au. Time-resolved shock data showing transient SFG signal loss of ODT/Au and PDT/Au are fit by calculations of the terminal group orientations as a function of deltaV and their contributions to the SFG hyperpolarizability. The highly elastic response of PDT/Au results from shock-generated methyl and chain tilting. The viscoelastic response of ODT/Au results from shock generation of single and double gauche defects. Isothermal compression simulations help explain and fit the time dependence of shock spectra but generally underestimate the magnitude of SFG signal loss because they do not include effects of high-strain-rate dynamics and shock front and surface irregularities.     

Ordering transition of block copolymer films

It is well-known that a bulk, symmetric, A-b-B diblock copolymer forms a lamellar morphology, with period L, below an order-disorder transition (T(ODT)) temperature, for chiN < 10.5; chi is the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter and N is the degree of polymerization of the copolymer. The ordering temperatures of poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) thin film diblock copolymers of thickness h 相似文献   

Self-diffusion of a polystyrene-polyisoprene block copolymer

Forced Rayleigh scattering (FRS) has been used to measure the self-diffusion coefficient, D, of a lamellar-forming polystyrene-polyisoprene diblock copolymer (M_PS = 1.0 X 10⁴, M_PI = 1.3 X 10⁴) as a function of temperature. The measurements traverse the order-disorder transition (ODT), which occurs at 160°C. There is no obvious change in either D or the temperature dependence of D at the ODT, in agreement with measurements on several other systems. Electron microscopy confirms that the sample in the ordered state is quenched, with no long-range orientation of lamellae, and a typical grain size well below 1 μm. In contrast to previous measurements on a similar styrene-isoprene diblock, these FRS signals are well-described by single exponential decays; this may be largely attributed to differences in average grain size. The temperature dependence of D is modeled with several empirical expressions, based on the known monomeric friction factors for pure polystyrene and pure polyisoprene, but without quantitative success. These results underscore the need for a greater understanding of the composition and temperature dependences of local friction in polymer mixtures. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.