Block copolymer templated self-assembly of disk-shaped molecules
Abstract
Stacking of disk-shaped organic molecules is a promising strategy to develop electronic and photovoltaic devices. Here, we investigate the capability of a soft block copolymer matrix that microphase separates into a cylindrical phase to direct the self-assembly of disk-shaped molecules by means of molecular simulations. We show that two disk molecules confined in the cylinder domain experience a depletion force, induced by the polymer chains, which results in the formation of stacks of disks. This entropic interaction and the soft confinement provided by the matrix are both responsible for the structures that can be self-assembled, which include slanted or columnar stacks. In addition, we evidence the transmission of stresses between the different minority domains of the microphase, which results in the establishment of a long-ranged interaction between disk molecules embedded in different domains; this interaction is of the order of the microphase periodicity and may be exploited to direct assembly of disks at larger scales.
- Authors:
-
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1535327
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1374095
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0010428
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Chemical Physics
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 147; Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 0021-9606
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; Chemistry; Physics
Citation Formats
Aragones, J. L., and Alexander-Katz, A. Block copolymer templated self-assembly of disk-shaped molecules. United States: N. p., 2017.
Web. doi:10.1063/1.4993210.
Aragones, J. L., & Alexander-Katz, A. Block copolymer templated self-assembly of disk-shaped molecules. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4993210
Aragones, J. L., and Alexander-Katz, A. Mon .
"Block copolymer templated self-assembly of disk-shaped molecules". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4993210. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1535327.
@article{osti_1535327,
title = {Block copolymer templated self-assembly of disk-shaped molecules},
author = {Aragones, J. L. and Alexander-Katz, A.},
abstractNote = {Stacking of disk-shaped organic molecules is a promising strategy to develop electronic and photovoltaic devices. Here, we investigate the capability of a soft block copolymer matrix that microphase separates into a cylindrical phase to direct the self-assembly of disk-shaped molecules by means of molecular simulations. We show that two disk molecules confined in the cylinder domain experience a depletion force, induced by the polymer chains, which results in the formation of stacks of disks. This entropic interaction and the soft confinement provided by the matrix are both responsible for the structures that can be self-assembled, which include slanted or columnar stacks. In addition, we evidence the transmission of stresses between the different minority domains of the microphase, which results in the establishment of a long-ranged interaction between disk molecules embedded in different domains; this interaction is of the order of the microphase periodicity and may be exploited to direct assembly of disks at larger scales.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4993210},
journal = {Journal of Chemical Physics},
number = 5,
volume = 147,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Aug 07 00:00:00 EDT 2017},
month = {Mon Aug 07 00:00:00 EDT 2017}
}
Web of Science
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