Intradomain Textures in Block Copolymers: Multizone Alignment and Biaxiality

Ishan Prasad, Youngmi Seo, Lisa M. Hall, and Gregory M. Grason
Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 247801 – Published 12 June 2017
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Abstract

Block copolymer (BCP) melt assembly has been studied for decades, focusing largely on self-organized spatial patterns of periodically ordered segment density. Here, we demonstrate that underlying the well-known composition profiles (i.e., ordered lamella, cylinders, spheres, and networks) are generic and heterogeneous patterns of segment orientation that couple strongly to morphology, even in the absence of specific factors that promote intra or interchain segment alignment. We employ both self-consistent field theory and coarse-grained simulation methods to measure polar and nematic order parameters of segments in a freely jointed chain model of diblock melts. We show that BCP morphologies have a multizone texture, with segments predominantly aligned normal and parallel to interdomain interfaces in the respective brush and interfacial regions of the microdomain. Further, morphologies with anisotropically curved interfaces (i.e., cylinders and networks) exhibit biaxial order that is aligned to the principal curvature axes of the interface.

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  • Received 23 December 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.247801

© 2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Polymers & Soft Matter

Authors & Affiliations

Ishan Prasad

  • Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA

Youngmi Seo and Lisa M. Hall

  • William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA

Gregory M. Grason

  • Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA

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Issue

Vol. 118, Iss. 24 — 16 June 2017

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