301. Self-assembly and polymerization of epoxy resin-amphiphilic block copolymer nanocomposites
- Author
-
Hillmyer, Marc A., Lipic, Paul M., Hajduk, Damian A., Almdal, Kristoffer, and Bates, Frank S.
- Subjects
Electron microscopy -- Usage ,X-ray spectroscopy -- Usage ,Polymerization -- Analysis ,Epoxy resins -- Research ,Thermodynamics -- Analysis ,Chemistry - Abstract
The thermodynamics of block polymer self-assembly was investigated through the synthesis of composite materials bearing nanoscopic features using a newly-developed technique. The new method which was developed based on the theory of mixing a low-molecular-weight thermosetting epoxy resin and a diblock polymer to form a well-ordered nanostructure was applied to the preparation of amphiphilic block copolymers. Assessment of the product by electron microscopy and X-ray scattering techniques revealed that self-assembly and polymerization are adequately uncoupled such that once an ordered symmetry has been prepared, the cross-linking of the epoxy resins does not alter the conformational structure.
- Published
- 1997