Abstract
Block copolymers (BCPs), through their self-assembly, provide an excellent guiding platform for precise controlled localization of maghemite nanoparticles (MNPs). Diblock copolymers (di/BCP) represent the most applied matrix to host filler components due to their morphological simplicity. A series of nanocomposites based on diblock copolymer or triblock terpolymer matrices and magnetic nanoparticles were prepared to study and compare the influence of an additional block into the BCP matrix. MNPs were grafted with low molecular weight polystyrene (PS) chains in order to be segregated in a specific phase of the matrix to induce selective localization. After the mixing of the BCPs with 10% w/v PS-g-MNPs, nanocomposite thin films were formed by spin coating. Solvent vapor annealing (SVA) enabled the PS-g-MNPs selective placement within the PS domains of the BCPs, as revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The recorded images have proven that high amounts of functionalized MNPs can be controllably localized within the same block (PS), despite the architecture of the BCPs (AB vs. ABC). The adopted lamellar structure of the “neat” BCP thin films was maintained for MNPs loading approximately up to 10% w/v, while, for higher content, the BCP adopted lamellar morphology is partially disrupted, or even disappears for both AB and ABC architectures.
Highlights
Among hybrid nanocomposites, the combination of block copolymers (BCPs) and nanoparticles (NPs) is regarded to be an ideal candidate for the “bottom-up” fabrication of nanocomposites and it remains an area of continuous research
The high-vacuum anionic polymerization technique was utilized to synthesize the diblock copolymers and triblock terpolymer, which were examined as topographical nanopatterns with iron oxide nanoparticles (Table 1)
We present the effect of the solvent vapor annealing (SVA) process on the developed morphology by the addition of one extra block in a BCP patterned platform based on morphological results that have been obtained so far, which has never been previously reported in the literature
Summary
The combination of block copolymers (BCPs) and nanoparticles (NPs) is regarded to be an ideal candidate for the “bottom-up” fabrication of nanocomposites and it remains an area of continuous research. The NPs dispersion and localization on a specific block of the BCP host or on the interface between the different blocks is dependent on balancing the conformational entropy of the BCP host, the inclusion enthalpy of the NPs, as well as the NPs translational entropy [19,20]. Such behavior of the NPs induces morphological changes on the BCP host, which depends on the chemical affinity between the NPs and the chemically different domains of the BCP host. It is evident that the exploitation of the physical/chemical properties of the nanocomposites depends on the precise functionality of the NPs and their controlled incorporation into specific domains of the microphase separated BCPs
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