Communication: Molecular-level insights into asymmetric triblock copolymers: Network and phase development
Tallury S. S.1,2, Mineart K. P.3, Wołoszczuk S.4, Williams D. N.3, Thompson R. B.5, Pasquinelli M. A.2, Banaszak M.4, Spontak R. J.1,3
- 1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- 2Fiber and Polymer Science Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- 3Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
- 4Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
- 5Department of Physics and Astronomy, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
Journal of Chemical Physics, 141 (12), 121103, 2014
DOI:: 10.1063/1.4896612
Abstract:
Molecularly asymmetric triblock copolymers progressively grown from a parent diblock copolymer can be used to elucidate the phase and property transformation from diblock to network-forming triblock copolymer. In this study, we use several theoretical formalisms and simulation methods to examine the molecular-level characteristics accompanying this transformation, and show that reported macroscopic-level transitions correspond to the onset of an equilibrium network. Midblock conformational fractions and copolymer morphologies are provided as functions of copolymer composition and temperature. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.
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