Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers
Published on: June 20, 2019
Characterization of the dynamics of block copolymer microdomains with local morphological measures
1Chemische Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz, Reichenhainer Strasse 70, D-09126 Chemnitz, Germany. sabine.scherdel@physik.tu-chemnitz.de
Abstract:
We investigate the structure formation in thin films of cylinder forming block copolymers. With in situ scanning probe microscopy image sequences can be recorded with high temporal (2 min per frame) and spatial (10 nm) resolution. We compare different image processing methods for quantitative analysis of the large amount of data. Computing local Minkowski functionals yields local geometrical and morphological information about the observed structures and enables us to track their evolution with time. An alternative characterization method is to reduce the gray scale images to their skeleton and to classify and count the branching points of the skeletonized structure. We tracked the temporal evolution of these measures and computed correlation functions.
Related Concept Videos
Characteristics and Nomenclature of Copolymers
Determination of Molar Masses of Polymers I
Determination of Molar Masses of Polymers II
Polymers: Molecular Weight Distribution
Cationic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism
Polymer Classification: Crystallinity
Crystalline domains are the regions where polymer chains are aligned in an orderly manner and held together in proximity by intermolecular forces. For example, chains in the crystalline domains of polyethylene and nylon are bound together by van der Waals...

