ma2011798_si_001.pdf (380.12 kB)
Block Copolymer Supramolecular Assembly beyond Hydrogen Bonding
journal contribution
posted on 2012-01-10, 00:00 authored by Daniel Hagaman, Timothy P. Enright, Alexander SidorenkoSupramolecular assemblies of block copolymers (BSAs)
with low molecular weight additives require preferential interactions
between the additive and one of the blocks. So far, only hydrogen
bonds (HB) were explored to obtain BSAs. We report on three novel
BSAs of block copolymer PS-block-P4VP with commercially
valuable additives of the EDOT family. Two of the additives ((3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)
(EDOT) and 3,4-(2,2-dimethylpropylenedioxy)thiophene (ProDOT)) form
the BSAs based on interactions others than HB. The morphology and
some properties of the BSAs were studied by means of AFM, FTIR, and
spectroscopic ellipsometry. The BSAs reveal cylindrical morphology
with periodicity of ∼30 nm. In thin films the orientation of
the cylinders can be switched from perpendicular to parallel by annealing
in vapors of a suitable solvent. Extraction with a selective solvent
results in porous films with porosity of ∼15%. These non-HB
BSAs were compared with the HB BSA of HMeDOT as well as HABA BSA reported
recently. The nature of the non-HB interactions is briefly discussed.