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Related Concept Videos

Characteristics and Nomenclature of Copolymers01:24

Characteristics and Nomenclature of Copolymers

Copolymers are the products obtained from the polymerization of multiple monomer species. So, in a polymer chain itself, there can be multiple repeating units that come from different monomers. The process of synthesizing a polymer from different monomer species is called copolymerization. When two monomers are involved, the polymer is known as a bipolymer. Polymers with three and four monomers are termed terpolymers and quaterpolymers, respectively. Figure 1 depicts the copolymerization of...
Cationic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism00:57

Cationic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism

The cationic polymerization mechanism consists of three steps: initiation, propagation, and termination. In the initiation step of the polymerization process, the π bond of a monomer gets protonated by the Lewis acid catalyst, which is formed from boron trifluoride and water. The protonation of the π bond generates a carbocation stabilized by the electron‐donating group. In the propagation step, the π bond of the second monomer acts as a nucleophile and attacks the generated carbocation,...
Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:20

Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview

The polymerization process that involves carbanion as an intermediate is called anionic polymerization. It is also a type of addition or chain-growth polymerization. Anionic polymerization gets initiated by a strong nucleophile such as an organolithium or a Grignard reagent. The most commonly used initiator for anionic polymerization is butyl lithium. Monomers involved in anionic polymerization must possess a vinyl group bonded to one or two electron-withdrawing groups. For instance,...
Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:03

Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview

Step-growth or condensation polymerization is a stepwise reaction of bi or multifunctional monomers to form long-chain polymers. As all the monomers are reactive, most of the monomers are consumed at the early stages of the reaction to form small chains of reactive oligomers, which then combine to form long polymer chains in the late stages. Hence, the reaction has to proceed for a long time to achieve high molecular weight polymers.
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...

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Engineering Assembly Kinetics and Line Roughness in Solvent Vapor-Annealed Block Copolymer/Homopolymer Blends.

Karthika Madathil1, Nikhil Tiwale1, Gregory S Doerk1

  • 1Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States.

Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|May 29, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Adding homopolymers to block copolymer (BCP) directed self-assembly (DSA) can speed up pattern formation and reduce line roughness. PS homopolymer blends offer faster self-assembly and smoother patterns, while ternary blends provide defect reduction across wider compositions.

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Solvent Bonding for Fabrication of PMMA and COP Microfluidic Devices
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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Nanotechnology
  • Polymer Chemistry

Background:

  • Block copolymer (BCP) directed self-assembly (DSA) is crucial for high-resolution nanopatterning.
  • Achieving fast self-assembly without increasing line roughness is a key challenge.
  • Existing acceleration strategies often lead to broader interfaces and increased roughness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the trade-off between self-assembly kinetics and line roughness in BCP thin films.
  • To experimentally evaluate the effects of homopolymer blending on DSA defect reduction and feature smoothness.
  • To explore the potential of binary and ternary blends for optimizing DSA processes.

Main Methods:

  • Solvent vapor annealing of lamellar poly(styrene-block-2-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P2VP) BCP with PS and/or P2VP homopolymers using acetone.
  • P2VP-selective vapor-phase infiltration with alumina (AlOx) for pattern definition.
  • Polymer etching to reveal the alumina nanostructures.

Main Results:

  • Binary blends with P2VP showed modest kinetic enhancement but increased line roughness.
  • Binary blends with PS demonstrated significantly faster self-assembly and reduced roughness.
  • Ternary blends maintained pattern stability over a wider composition range and reduced roughness at specific length scales.

Conclusions:

  • Homopolymer blending can mitigate the kinetics-roughness trade-off in BCP DSA.
  • PS homopolymer addition is effective in accelerating self-assembly and reducing line roughness.
  • Optimized blend compositions and process flows are essential for defect-free, high-resolution nanopatterning.