Experiments and Simulations Probing Local Domain Bulge and String Assembly of Aligned Nanoplates in a Lamellar Diblock Copolymer

Krook, Nadia M.; Tabedzki, Christian; Elbert, Katherine C.; Yager, Kevin G.; Murray, Christopher B.; Riggleman, Robert A.; Composto, Russell J.

doi:10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01324

Title: Experiments and Simulations Probing Local Domain Bulge and String Assembly of Aligned Nanoplates in a Lamellar Diblock Copolymer

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Abstract

Within ordered poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) block copolymer (BCP) lamellae, oriented nanoplates [gadolinium trifluoride doped with ytterbium and erbium, GdF₃:Yb/Er (20/2 mol %)] grafted with polyethylene glycol assemble into aligned strings at small interparticle separations In this article, we investigate the origin of these aligned assemblies using X-ray scattering, electron microscopy, and hybrid particle/self-consistent field theory simulations. From previous reports, the insertion of a nanoplate in a BCP microdomain is expected to perturb the polymer chains and produce a local domain bulge as the PS/PMMA interface distorts to optimize conformational entropy. While experimental techniques are unable to directly resolve this small distortion, the two-dimensional simulations of the equilibrium BCP nanocomposite structure clearly show bulge formation around the nanoplates. As a function of particle separation, the potential of mean force (PMF) calculation reveals a global minimum corresponding to an equilibrium interparticle spacing of 7.0 nm, which agrees well with a mean experimental value of 6.4 nm. Furthermore, the PMF calculation exhibits a small activation barrier due to the high curvature penalty between two nanoplates at a separation distance of 21.7 nm. Ultimately, nanoplate strings form to fulfill the criteria where the energy benefit of decreasing interfacial area and minimizing chain stretching outweighsmore »« less

Authors:

^[1]; Tabedzki, Christian ^[1]; Elbert, Katherine C. ^[1];

^[2]; Murray, Christopher B. ^[1];

^[1];

^[1]

Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States)
Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

Publication Date:: Wed Nov 13 00:00:00 EST 2019

Research Org.:: Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

OSTI Identifier:: 1580246

Report Number(s):: BNL-212481-2019-JAAM
Journal ID: ISSN 0024-9297

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0012704

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Macromolecules

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 52; Journal Issue: 22; Journal ID: ISSN 0024-9297

Publisher:: American Chemical Society

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY; 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Citation Formats


                    Krook, Nadia M., Tabedzki, Christian, Elbert, Katherine C., Yager, Kevin G., Murray, Christopher B., Riggleman, Robert A., and Composto, Russell J. Experiments and Simulations Probing Local Domain Bulge and String Assembly of Aligned Nanoplates in a Lamellar Diblock Copolymer.  United States: N. p., 2019. 
Web.  doi:10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01324.

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                    Krook, Nadia M., Tabedzki, Christian, Elbert, Katherine C., Yager, Kevin G., Murray, Christopher B., Riggleman, Robert A., & Composto, Russell J. Experiments and Simulations Probing Local Domain Bulge and String Assembly of Aligned Nanoplates in a Lamellar Diblock Copolymer.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01324

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                    Krook, Nadia M., Tabedzki, Christian, Elbert, Katherine C., Yager, Kevin G., Murray, Christopher B., Riggleman, Robert A., and Composto, Russell J. Wed .  
"Experiments and Simulations Probing Local Domain Bulge and String Assembly of Aligned Nanoplates in a Lamellar Diblock Copolymer".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01324.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1580246.

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@article{osti_1580246,

  title        = {Experiments and Simulations Probing Local Domain Bulge and String Assembly of Aligned Nanoplates in a Lamellar Diblock Copolymer},

  author       = {Krook, Nadia M. and Tabedzki, Christian and Elbert, Katherine C. and Yager, Kevin G. and Murray, Christopher B. and Riggleman, Robert A. and Composto, Russell J.},

  abstractNote = {Within ordered poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) block copolymer (BCP) lamellae, oriented nanoplates [gadolinium trifluoride doped with ytterbium and erbium, GdF3:Yb/Er (20/2 mol %)] grafted with polyethylene glycol assemble into aligned strings at small interparticle separations In this article, we investigate the origin of these aligned assemblies using X-ray scattering, electron microscopy, and hybrid particle/self-consistent field theory simulations. From previous reports, the insertion of a nanoplate in a BCP microdomain is expected to perturb the polymer chains and produce a local domain bulge as the PS/PMMA interface distorts to optimize conformational entropy. While experimental techniques are unable to directly resolve this small distortion, the two-dimensional simulations of the equilibrium BCP nanocomposite structure clearly show bulge formation around the nanoplates. As a function of particle separation, the potential of mean force (PMF) calculation reveals a global minimum corresponding to an equilibrium interparticle spacing of 7.0 nm, which agrees well with a mean experimental value of 6.4 nm. Furthermore, the PMF calculation exhibits a small activation barrier due to the high curvature penalty between two nanoplates at a separation distance of 21.7 nm. Ultimately, nanoplate strings form to fulfill the criteria where the energy benefit of decreasing interfacial area and minimizing chain stretching outweighs the energy penalty associated with reducing the translational entropy affiliated with evenly distributing the nanoplates. The simulations also illustrate a narrow tolerance for orientation angles, supporting the high degree of nanoplate alignment observed experimentally. Lastly, we anticipate that the ability to align and couple anisotropic nanoparticles in BCPs presents opportunities to create functional polymer nanocomposites with orientation-dependent properties.},

  doi          = {10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01324},

  journal      = {Macromolecules},

  number       = 22,

  volume       = 52,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Wed Nov 13 00:00:00 EST 2019},

  month        = {Wed Nov 13 00:00:00 EST 2019}

}

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