Bicontinuous Block Copolymer Microparticles through Hydrogen-Bonding-Mediated Dual Phase Separation between Polymer...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Bicontinuous microparticles offer superior transport, mechanical, and electrochemical properties.
• Fabricating these structures from block copolymers (BCPs) is challenging due to the narrow phase diagram region for bicontinuous structures.
• Existing methods struggle to control microphase separation effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a strategy for fabricating bicontinuous microparticles of BCPs with a wider accessible phase space.
• To control microphase separation by balancing interactions between BCPs and additives.
• To enable the creation of complex BCP structures not easily accessible via traditional methods.

Main Methods:

• Utilized emulsion droplets to balance phase separation of BCPs and fluorinated additives at multiple length scales.
• Introduced simultaneous attractive (hydrogen bonding) and repulsive (immiscibility) interactions between poly(4-vinylpyridine)-containing BCPs and carboxylated perfluorinated additives.
• Leveraged the reversible nature of hydrogen bonding for adaptable BCP assembly.

Main Results:

• Successfully created bicontinuous microparticles by balancing contradictory attractive-repulsive interactions.
• Achieved formation of bicontinuous structures within a significantly larger phase space than previously possible.
• Demonstrated a flexible route for reversibly shaping BCP assemblies.

Conclusions:

• A novel platform for fabricating challenging bicontinuous BCP microparticle structures has been established.
• The strategy overcomes limitations of traditional solution self-assembly for complex BCP architectures.
• This work paves the way for advanced materials with tailored properties for energy storage and catalysis.