Controlled Crystallization of Diblock Copolymers on Carbon materials: Effect of Block Length

Abstract

The fabrication of sophisticated hybrid mesostructures involving carbon nanomaterials and organic building blocks has attracted great attention due to their tunable properties and potential applications. Herein, we report the precisely controlled structure and morphology of diblock copolymers-carbon materials hybrid mesostructures, in which nano/micron- disc shape and honeycomb structure were fabricated on the surfaces of carbon nanotube (CNT), carbon nanofiber (CNF), and graphite, respectively. Synthesized ethylene/functional cyclic olefin block copolymers (PE-b-HPNBMA) showed a narrow dispersity, allowing the formation of nanohybrid shish-kebab structures (NHSK) with a highly uniform disc-shape crystalline size and period. The tunability of HPNBMA block length and functional substituent enables not only control of the nanocrystal size but also flexible design of the surface chemical structure, which can endow diblock copolymers-carbon materials hybrid mesostructures with specific properties. As proof of the ability, superhydrophobic (contact angle > 150°) NHSK films with tunable adhesion were successfully produced.