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Gyroid Nickel Nanostructures from Diblock Copolymer Supramolecules
Published on: April 28, 2014
Regulate the Stability of Gyroids of ABC-Type Multiblock Copolymers by Controlling the Packing Frustration
Qiong Xie1, Yicheng Qiang1, Weihua Li1
1State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Key Laboratory of Computational Physical Sciences, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China.
Abstract:
We propose to regulate the stability of gyroids of ABC-type multiblock copolymers by controlling the packing frustration of majority-component B-blocks. Accordingly, we investigate the self-assembly behaviors of the BABCB linear terpolymer with a variable length ratio τ of the middle B-block relative to the total B-blocks using self-consistent field theory. It is observed that the gyroid region exhibits a maximal width with respect to τ, which is attributed by the nonmonotonical change of the packing frustration of three B-blocks in the morphology of discrete domains, for example, cylinders. Then we further purposely design another ABC-type copolymer composed of an ABC linear triblock tethered by another B-block at the middle of the B-block. In contrast, the packing frustration of B-blocks of the second terpolymer drops down continuously as the middle B-block shortens, thus, expanding the stable regions of cylinders and spheres while contracting those of lamella and gyroid.
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