Self-assembly of a binary mixture of particles and diblock copolymers
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Date
2003
Authors
Lee, Jae Youn
Thompson, Russell B.
Jasnow, David
Balazs, Anna C.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
Abstract
Using theoretical models, we undertake the first investigation into the synergy and rich phase behavior that emerges when binary particle mixtures are blended with microphase- separating copolymers. We isolate an example of spontaneous hierarchical self-assembly in such hybrid materials, where the system exhibits both nanoscopic ordering of the particles and macroscopic phase transformation in the copolymer matrix. Furthermore, the self- assembly is driven by entropic effects involving all the different components. The results reveal that entropy can be exploited to create highly ordered nanocomposites with potentially unique electronic and photonic properties.
Description
Keywords
block copolymers, self-consistent field theory, nanocomposites