Abstract
Three-dimensional (3D) morphology of hierarchically self-assembled mixed poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (PtBA)/polystyrene (PS) brush-grafted 67 nm silica nanoparticles cast from chloroform on a carbon-coated transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grid was directly visualized using electron tomography (i.e., 3D TEM). The number-average molecular weights for PtBA and PS were 22.2 and 23.4 kDa, and their grafting densities were 0.51 and 0.34 chains/nm2, respectively. For a dense monolayer of mixed brush-grafted silica particles, a rippled phase structure was observed, and the monolayer consisted of protruded top portions from large nanoparticles and a bottom continuous film. In the top protruded part of large nanoparticles, isolated cylindrical PS microdomains were formed in the PtBA matrix due to the low PS volume fraction (i.e., 37%). The morphology in the lower continuous film was strongly influenced by interparticle interactions via mixed polymer brushes. As a result, bicontinuous nanostructures instead of i...
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