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Using tapered interfaces to manipulate nanoscale morphologies in ion-doped block polymers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2015

Wei-Fan Kuan
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
Ellen H. Reed
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
Ngoc A. Nguyen
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
Michael E. Mackay
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
Thomas H. Epps III*
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
*
Address all correspondence to Thomas H. Epps, III atthepps@udel.edu
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Abstract

We detail the influence of tapered interfaces on the nanoscale morphologies of ion-doped poly(styrene-b-oligo-oxyethylene methacrylate) block polymers (BPs). Most significantly, the location of double-gyroid network phase window was found in ion-doped normal-tapered materials, and a similar window was not detectable in the corresponding non-tapered and inverse-tapered BPs. Additionally, the effective interaction parameters, χeff, were reduced substantially in the tapered materials in comparison with their non-tapered counterparts. Overall, this work demonstrates that tapering between polymer blocks provides unique control over BP morphologies and improves the material processability (due to lower χeff), potentially facilitating the development of future ion-conducting devices.

Type
Polymers/Soft Matter Research Letters
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2015 

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