Abstract

A tethered triblock copolymer has been synthesized by sequential monomer addition to a self-assembled monolayer of (11-(2-bromo-2-methyl)propionyloxy)undecyltrichlorosilane. Si/SiO2//polystyrene-b-poly(methyl acrylate)-b-polystyrene (PS-b-PMA-b-PS) and Si/SiO2//PMA-b-PS-b-PMA were prepared by the “grafting from” method using atom transfer radical polymerization. The resulting triblock brushes were characterized by ATR−FTIR, water contact angles, ellipsometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Free polymer formed during the brush formation was characterized by gel permeation chromatography. Treatment of the triblock brushes with block-selective solvents caused reversible changes in the water contact angles and AFM. AFM analysis revealed a patterned nanomorphology when the brush was treated with a good solvent for the mid-block. We have interpreted this nanomorphology in terms of a folded brush structure where the two end blocks aggregate and force the mid-block to t...

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