Abstract
Process-directed self-assembly of block copolymers refers to thermodynamic processes that reproducibly direct the kinetics of structure formation from a starting, unstable state into a selected, metastable mesostructure. We investigate the kinetics of self-assembly of linear triblock copolymers after a rapid transformation of the middle block from to . This prototypical process (e.g., photochemical transformation) converts the initial, equilibrium mesophase of the copolymer into a well-defined but unstable, starting state of the copolymer. The spontaneous structure formation that ensues from this unstable state becomes trapped in a metastable mesostructure, and we systematically explore which metastable mesostructures can be fabricated by varying the block copolymer composition of the initial and final states. In addition to the equilibrium mesophases of linear diblock copolymers, this diagram of process-accessible states includes 7 metastable periodic mesostructures, inter alia, Schoen’s F-RD periodic minimal surface. Generally, we observe that the final, metastable mesostructure of the copolymer possesses the same symmetry as the initial, equilibrium mesophase of the copolymer.
- Received 17 November 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.067801
© 2017 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Synopsis
Polymer Alchemy
Published 8 February 2017
Light could alter the chemistry of multicomponent polymers, allowing for the control of structures they form.
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