Nano Structures of Thin Films of Block Copolymers with Oligothiophene Side Chains

We synthesized polymers containing a liquid-crystalline (LC) oligothiophene moiety in the side chain. This oligothiophene shows LC behavior between 101°C and 194°C in its original form, while when incorporated into the side chains of a polymer, the resultant polymer showed a nematic phase in a much wider temperature range. Thin films of these polymers showed nano-phase-separated structures with domain sizes of 15–40 nm upon annealing.