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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
Published on: September 26, 2016
Motion of single terrylene molecules in confined channels of poly(butadiene)-poly(ethylene oxide) diblock copolymer
Abstract:
The motion of terrylene probe molecules in confined PB channels of an asymmetric PB-PEO diblock copolymer has been investigated by single molecule tracking. The one-dimensional diffusion coefficients were found to be significantly smaller and had a narrower distribution compared to two-dimensional diffusion coefficients in PB. The trajectories of some single molecules showed unusual behavior of directed motion where mean square displacement had a parabolic dependence on lag time. The likely origin of this behavior is discussed in terms of local variations in the PB channel width and the resulting change in the local density. The results show the effect of nonuniformities and heterogeneities in the channels on the motion of single molecules and demonstrate the sensitivity of single molecule tracking in characterizing self-assembled block copolymer morphologies.
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