Publication: Block copolymer self-organization vs. interfacial modification in bilayered thin-film laminates
All || By Area || By Year| Title | Block copolymer self-organization vs. interfacial modification in bilayered thin-film laminates | Authors/Editors* | A. Gozen, J. Zhou, K. Roskov, A.-C. Shi, J. Genzer, R. Spontak |
|---|---|
| Where published* | Soft Matter |
| How published* | Journal |
| Year* | 2011 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Number | |
| Pages | 3268 |
| Publisher | |
| Keywords | |
| Link | |
| Abstract |
Block copolymers remain one of the most extensively studied and utilized classes of macromolecules due to their extraordinary abilities to (i) self-assemble spontaneously into a wide variety of soft nanostructures and (ii) reduce the interfacial tension between, and thus compatibilize, immiscible polymer pairs. In bilayered thin-film laminates of immiscible homopolymers, block copolymers are similarly envisaged to stabilize such laminates. Contrary to intuition, we demonstrate that highly asymmetric block copolymers can conversely destabilize a laminate, as discerned from macroscopic dewetting behavior, due to dynamic competition between copolymer self-organization away from and enrichment at the bilayer interface. The mechanism of this counterintuitive destabilization is interrogated through complementary analysis of laminates containing mixtures of stabilizing/destabilizing diblock copolymers and time-dependent GinzburgâLandau computer simulations. This combination of experiments and simulations reveals a systematic progression of supramolecular-level events that establish the relative importance of molecular aggregation and lateral interfacial structuring in a highly nonequilibrium environment. |
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