<i>In Situ</i> Study of ABC Triblock Terpolymer Self-Assembly under Solvent Vapor Annealing

ORAL

Abstract

The morphological transition of core-shell cylinder-forming triblock terpolymers during solvent vapor annealing is monitored in situ using grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering. We investigate the self-assembly behavior of two linear ABC triblock terpolymers, poly(1,1-dimethyl silacyclobutane-block-styrene-block-methyl methacrylate) (PDMSB-b-PS-b-PMMA or DSM) and poly(1,1-dimethyl silacyclobutane-block-styrene-block-lactide) (PDMSB-b-PS-b-PLA or DSL). The morphology, orientation, and period of the microdomains are characterized under a continuous vapor flow of CHCl3 as a function of deswelling rate and swelling ratio. Films of DSM form in-plane core-shell cylinders, while DSL films predominantly form vertically oriented core-shell cylinders. A reversible order-order phase transformation between spheres and cylinders and a reorientation from in-plane to out-of-plane cylinders occur during the annealing process.

*This work was supported by NSF DMR-1606911. Shared experimental facilities of CMSE, an NSF MRSEC under award DMR-1419807, were used. This research used resources of the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, and the National Synchrotron Light Source II, which are U.S. DOE Office of Science Facilities, at Brookhaven National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-SC0012704.

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Presenters

  • Sangho Lee

    • Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Authors

  • Sangho Lee

    • Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Li-Chen Cheng

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • Kevin G. Yager

    • Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory
    • Brookhaven National Lab

  • Muhammad Mumtaz

    • Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques, CNRS – ENSCPB – Université de Bordeaux

  • Karim Aissou

    • Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques, University of Bordeaux
    • Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques, CNRS – ENSCPB – Université de Bordeaux

  • Caroline Anne Ross

    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • MIT
    • Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology