skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Effect of Stereochemistry on Directed Self-Assembly of Poly(styrene-b-lactide) Films on Chemical Patterns

Journal Article · · ACS Macro Letters

We demonstrated here for the first time that the stereochemistry of polylactide (PLA) blocks affected the assembly behaviors of PS-b-PLA on chemical patterns. Two PS-b-PLA block copolymers, where the PLA block is either racemic (PDLLA) or left-handed (PLLA), were synthesized and directed to assemble on chemical patterns with a wide range of L-s/L-o. PS-b-PDLLA was stretched up to 70% on chemical patterns, while PS-b-PLLA was only stretched by 20%. The assembly behavior of PS-b-PDLLA was different from AB diblock copolymer, but similar to that of ABA triblock copolymer. The high stretchability might be attributed to the formation of stereocomplexes in PDLLA blocks. Compared to ABA triblock copolymers, stereocomplexed diblock copolymers have much faster assembly kinetics. This observation provides a new concept to achieve large process windows by the introduction of specific interactions, for example, H-bonding, supramolecular interaction, and sterecomplexation, between polymer chains.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science - Office of Basic Energy Sciences - Scientific User Facilities Division; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1259278
Journal Information:
ACS Macro Letters, Vol. 5, Issue 3; ISSN 2161-1653
Publisher:
American Chemical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Related Subjects