Self-Assembly of Low-Molecular-Weight Asymmetric Linear Triblock Terpolymers: How Low Can We Go?

The synthesis of two (2) novel triblock terpolymers of the ABC type and one (1) of the BAC type, where A, B and C are chemically different segments, such as polystyrene (PS), poly(butadiene) (PB<sub>1,4</sub>) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), is reported; moreover, their corresponding...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Christina Miskaki, Ioannis Moutsios, Gkreti-Maria Manesi, Konstantinos Artopoiadis, Cheng-Yen Chang, Egor A. Bersenev, Dimitrios Moschovas, Dimitri A. Ivanov, Rong-Ming Ho, Apostolos Avgeropoulos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
Series:Molecules
Subjects:
SEC
TEM
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/23/5527
Description
Summary:The synthesis of two (2) novel triblock terpolymers of the ABC type and one (1) of the BAC type, where A, B and C are chemically different segments, such as polystyrene (PS), poly(butadiene) (PB<sub>1,4</sub>) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), is reported; moreover, their corresponding molecular and bulk characterizations were performed. Very low dimensions are evident from the characterization in bulk from transmission electron microscopy studies, verified by small-angle X-ray data, since sub-16 nm domains are evident in all three cases. The self-assembly results justify the assumptions that the high Flory–Huggins parameter, <i>χ</i>, even in low molecular weights, leads to significantly well-ordered structures, despite the complexity of the systems studied. Furthermore, it is the first time that a structure/properties relationship was studied for such systems in bulk, potentially leading to prominent applications in nanotechnology and nanopatterning, for as low as sub-10 nm thin-film manipulations.
ISSN:1420-3049