The electrochemical properties of a solid polymer electrolyte consisting of a diblock copolymer and lithium bis oxalato borate, LiBC4O8 LiBOB salt, is reported. The spherical microphase-separated diblock copolymer is composed of a majority poly ethylene oxide PEO block and a minority random copolymer block of methyl methacrylate MMA and lithium salt of methacrylic acid MAALi , PEO-bPMMA-ran-PMA...

By using a combinatorial screening method based on the self-consistent field theory (SCFT) for polymers, we have investigated the morphology of H-shaped ABC block copolymers (A2BC2) and compared them with those of the linear ABC block copolymers. By changing the ratios of the volume fractions of two A arms and two C arms, one can obtain block copolymers with different architectures ranging from...

Block copolymer self-assembly generates patterns with periodicity in the ∼10-100 nm range and is increasingly recognized as a route to lithographic patterning beyond the resolution of photolithography. Block copolymers naturally produce periodic patterns with a morphology and length-scale determined by the molecular architecture, and considerable research has been carried out to extend the rang...

Au-nanoclusters between 2 and 8 nm in diameter were deposited onto solid substrates in different pattern geometries. The basis of this approach is the self-assembly of polystyrene-b-poly[2-vinylpyridine (HAuCl4)] diblock copolymer micelles into uniform monomicellar films on solid supports such as Si-wafers or glass cover slips. HAuCl4 as metallic precursor or a single solid Au-nanoparticle caus...

In this study, factors controlling autonomous vesicle oscillations exhibited by self-oscillating diblock copolymers were investigated. The self-oscillating diblock copolymer contains poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) as the hydrophilic block and a random copolymer composed of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) with side chains of ruthenium tris(2,2'-bipyridine) (Ru(bpy)3), which catalyzes the Belousov-Zha...

Block copolymer thin films provide a robust method for generating regular, uniform patterns with sub-100 nanometer length scales over arbitrarily large areas. A significant advantage of such block copolymer-based patterning is its ease of integration with all other aspects of traditional thin-film processing, including plasma-based etching and metallization. Such process compatibility ensures a...

Block copolymers have long been studied for their theories and applications especially in nanotechnology.1-5 They have periodic structures with 10-100 nm long microphase separated domains which can be controlled by the molecular weight and composition of the block copolymer. Regulating these two parameters, one can prepare thin films with different morphologies over large areas. The patterns fo...

External electric fields readily align birefringent block-copolymer mesophases. In this study the effect of gold nanoparticles on the electric-field-induced alignment of a lamellae-forming polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) copolymer is assessed. Nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed in the styrenic phase and promote the quantitative alignment of lamellar domains by substantially lower...

We demonstrate that the temperature-dependent phase behaviors of parallel and perpendicular cylinder-forming block copolymers are governed by domain-domain segregation forces inherently present in block copolymer material itself. With increasing temperature, a parallel cylinder-forming block copolymer experienced a parallel cylinder straightening process before the order-disorder transition (OD...