Abstract
In this work, a series of isotactic-polypropylene/atactic-polystyrene (iPP/aPS) miktoarm star copolymers, PxSy, was synthesized via an arm-first approach. Varied star macromolecule architectures were fabricated by designing the arm length and the arm numbers (x and y). These miktoarm stars were able to form micelles in selective solvent (N,N′-dimethylformamide (DMF)), in which the insoluble iPP arms formed the core and the soluble aPS arms formed the shell. The miktoarm polymers aggregated to micro-nanoscale binary structures (MNBSes) in the casting process, and their morphologies, including the MNBS shape and size, were greatly influenced by the PxSy architectures. The MNBSes endowed the material surface with superhydrophobic performance with a water contact angle of 157.0° and a sliding angle of 1.5°.
Highlights
The design of polymer topology provides convenient ways to control the properties of materials.In the past decades, the self-assembly of linear block copolymers in selective solutions has been a very important area in both experimental and theoretical research [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Xu et al [10] fabricated a superhydrophobic surface with a bionic micro-nanoscale binary structure (MNBS) from a common isotactic-polypropylene/poly(methyl methacrylate) diblock copolymer based upon the principle of micelles, where diblock copolymers usually form in selective solvent
(1–2 μm) is covered by nanoscale papillae (50–200 nm) [8,11,12]. This strategy provided a replacement for traditional complex superhydrophobic surface preparation technology, which combines surface energy reduction [13] with surface roughness improvement [14,15]
Summary
The self-assembly of linear block copolymers in selective solutions has been a very important area in both experimental and theoretical research [1,2,3,4,5,6]. This interest is mainly due to the application of block copolymer self-assembly in functional materials and nanoscale devices. This strategy provided a replacement for traditional complex superhydrophobic surface preparation technology, which combines surface energy reduction [13] with surface roughness improvement [14,15]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
