1. Simulation of Surface-Induced Morphology Transition and Phase Diagram of Linear Triblock Copolymers under Spherical Confinement.
- Author
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Wu, Ji, Chen, Shang-Ting, Li, Shi-Ben, Liu, Lu-Ming, Wang, Xiang-Hong, and Lang, Wen-Chang
- Subjects
PHASE transitions ,PHASE diagrams ,SELF-consistent field theory ,COPOLYMERS ,DEGREES of freedom ,MICROWAVE spectroscopy ,BLOCK copolymers ,DIBLOCK copolymers - Abstract
In this work, the nanostructures and phase diagrams of lamella-forming and cylinder-forming ABC linear triblock copolymers confined in spherical cavities are investigated on the basis of real-space self-consistent field theory. We designate specific monomer-monomer interactions and block composition and study morphology transformation under spherical confinement with a neutral surface. Various potentially valuable morphological structures, such as two- or three-colored spheres, rotational structures, and biconcave disklike structures, are identified in the phase diagrams constructed on confining diameters. Single confinement induces an obvious transformation of self-assembled structures, which still retain some of the conformational properties of bulk structures. We then focus on phase morphology under preferential surfaces. Absorption can smooth out differences in block ratios, and similar structures can be assembled from block copolymers with different proportions. We incorporate a non-centrosymmetric feature into our spherical confinement model and design a Janus adsorption field to explore unpredictable microphase behavior. Results show that the unbalance of the block ratio causes adsorption to exert a stable shaping effect on conformation. The influence of confinement on the degree of freedom of polymer chains disrupts the influence of adsorption on the complexity and transformation activity of self-assembled structures. The theoretical results correspond to recent experimental observations and contribute to the field functional material synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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