Stability of the A15 phase in diblock copolymer melts
Abstract
The self-assembly of block polymers into well-ordered nanostructures underpins their utility across fundamental and applied polymer science, yet only a handful of equilibrium morphologies are known with the simplest AB-type materials. Here, we report the discovery of the A15 sphere phase in single-component diblock copolymer melts comprising poly(dodecyl acrylate)− block −poly(lactide). A systematic exploration of phase space revealed that A15 forms across a substantial range of minority lactide block volume fractions ( f L = 0.25 − 0.33) situated between the σ-sphere phase and hexagonally close-packed cylinders. Self-consistent field theory rationalizes the thermodynamic stability of A15 as a consequence of extreme conformational asymmetry. The experimentally observed A15−disorder phase transition is not captured using mean-field approximations but instead arises due to composition fluctuations as evidenced by fully fluctuating field-theoretic simulations. This combination of experiments and field-theoretic simulations provides rational design rules that can be used to generate unique, polymer-based mesophases through self-assembly.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities Division; National Science Foundation (NSF)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1526766
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1594106
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0019001; SC0019272; AC02-06CH11357; DMR 1720256; CNS-1725797
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Volume: 116 Journal Issue: 27; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424
- Publisher:
- National Academy of Sciences
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; block copolymer; topological close packing; tetrahedral close packing; A15 phase
Citation Formats
Bates, Morgan W., Lequieu, Joshua, Barbon, Stephanie M., Lewis, III, Ronald M., Delaney, Kris T., Anastasaki, Athina, Hawker, Craig J., Fredrickson, Glenn H., and Bates, Christopher M. Stability of the A15 phase in diblock copolymer melts. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1073/pnas.1900121116.
Bates, Morgan W., Lequieu, Joshua, Barbon, Stephanie M., Lewis, III, Ronald M., Delaney, Kris T., Anastasaki, Athina, Hawker, Craig J., Fredrickson, Glenn H., & Bates, Christopher M. Stability of the A15 phase in diblock copolymer melts. United States. doi:10.1073/pnas.1900121116.
Bates, Morgan W., Lequieu, Joshua, Barbon, Stephanie M., Lewis, III, Ronald M., Delaney, Kris T., Anastasaki, Athina, Hawker, Craig J., Fredrickson, Glenn H., and Bates, Christopher M. Mon .
"Stability of the A15 phase in diblock copolymer melts". United States. doi:10.1073/pnas.1900121116.
@article{osti_1526766,
title = {Stability of the A15 phase in diblock copolymer melts},
author = {Bates, Morgan W. and Lequieu, Joshua and Barbon, Stephanie M. and Lewis, III, Ronald M. and Delaney, Kris T. and Anastasaki, Athina and Hawker, Craig J. and Fredrickson, Glenn H. and Bates, Christopher M.},
abstractNote = {The self-assembly of block polymers into well-ordered nanostructures underpins their utility across fundamental and applied polymer science, yet only a handful of equilibrium morphologies are known with the simplest AB-type materials. Here, we report the discovery of the A15 sphere phase in single-component diblock copolymer melts comprising poly(dodecyl acrylate)− block −poly(lactide). A systematic exploration of phase space revealed that A15 forms across a substantial range of minority lactide block volume fractions ( f L = 0.25 − 0.33) situated between the σ-sphere phase and hexagonally close-packed cylinders. Self-consistent field theory rationalizes the thermodynamic stability of A15 as a consequence of extreme conformational asymmetry. The experimentally observed A15−disorder phase transition is not captured using mean-field approximations but instead arises due to composition fluctuations as evidenced by fully fluctuating field-theoretic simulations. This combination of experiments and field-theoretic simulations provides rational design rules that can be used to generate unique, polymer-based mesophases through self-assembly.},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1900121116},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
number = 27,
volume = 116,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {6}
}
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DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1900121116
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1900121116
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Cited by: 21 works
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