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Precisely tunable photonic crystals from rapidly self-assembling brush block copolymer blends.
Garret M Miyake1, Victoria A Piunova, Raymond A Weitekamp
1Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|September 15, 2012
Summary
High-molecular-weight brush block copolymers self-assemble into photonic crystals. Blending polymers of different molecular weights allows precise tuning of photonic band-gap materials.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Science
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- High-molecular-weight brush block copolymers exhibit reduced chain entanglement.
- This property enables rapid self-assembly into ordered structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the self-assembly of high-molecular-weight brush block copolymers into photonic crystals.
- To investigate the effect of blending polymers of different molecular weights on photonic properties.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of high-molecular-weight brush block copolymers.
- Blending of polymers with varying molecular weights.
- Characterization of self-assembled structures and photonic properties.
Main Results:
- Copolymers rapidly self-assembled into photonic crystals.
- Blending polymers predictably modulated domain sizes.
- Precision tuning of photonic band-gap materials was achieved.
Conclusions:
- Reduced chain entanglement in high-molecular-weight brush block copolymers facilitates photonic crystal formation.
- Polymer blending offers a facile method for tuning photonic band-gap materials.
