Today, high‐ordered micro‐ and nano‐patterned surfaces are widely used in many areas, such as in the preparation of super‐thin dielectric films, photonic crystals, antireflective films, super‐non‐wetting surfaces, bio‐compatible surfaces and microelectric devices. Considering the critical fabrication conditions and the irreducible high cost of the photolithography technique in patterning nano‐scale structures (<100 nm), the development of other micro‐ and nano‐patterning techniques that can be used to fabricate long‐range ordered features – especially nanoscale arrays – is a promising subject in surface science. In contrast to the traditional photolithography patterning technique, block copolymers can spontaneously phase separate into arrays of periodic patterns with length‐scales of 10–50 nm, which provides an efficient pathway to pattern nanoscale features. Today, preparing long‐range ordered arrays by block copolymer microphase separation is one of the most promising techniques for the fabrication of nanoscale arrays, not only being a simple process but also having a lower cost than traditional methods. In this feature article, we first summarize the many techniques developed to induce ordering in the microphase separation of the block copolymer thin films. Then, evolution, order–order transitions and reversible switching microdomains are considered, since they are very important in the ordered engineering of microphase separation of the block copolymer thin films. Finally, the outlook of this research area will be given.
The microphase-separating behaviors of two types of star-diblock copolymers (Ax)4(By)4 and (AxBy)4 in thin films are studied using the simulation technique of dissipative particle dynamics. A variety of ordered mesostructures have been observed and the simulated phase diagrams show obvious symmetries for the (Ax)4(By)4 films and asymmetries for the (AxBy)4 films, besides, it is easier for the (Ax)4(By)4 than for the (AxBy)4 to carry out microphase separation under the same conditions, which has been recognized in bulk and can be ascribed to the structural difference between the two types of star copolymers. There are some correspondences between the mesostructures formed in the film and those formed in bulk at the same composition fraction. Decreasing the thickness of film and strengthening the A-B repulsion both help the mesostructures enhance the degree of order. Composition fraction dependences of the mean-square radius of gyration in the two types of star copolymer films are almost contrary, which can be attributed to the differences in their respective structures.These findings can provide a guide to designing novel microstructures involving star-diblock copolymers via geometrical confinement. 相似文献
The effect of pressure on the microphase separation of diblock copolymer melts was investigated by dynamic density functional theory based on equation of state. The results correspond well with experiment data. With the application of high pressure, all of the phase regions corresponding to the different ordered morphologies become narrower. However, the pressure dependence of the order‐disorder transition temperature (TODT) relies on the symmetry of the diblock copolymer. In the very non‐symmetrical case when f is small, TODT decreases with increasing pressure, while in the symmetrical case when f = 0.5, TODT increases with increasing pressure. For the latter case, the increase in the total bead number of the system at the ODT is found, which is in good accordance with the experimental phenomenon that there is an increase in volume accompanying with the transition from ordered to disordered state. In contrast to the temperature, the pressure does not influence the starting time and the duration of microphase separation.
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