Issue 15, 2010

Ultra thin films of diblock copolymers under shear

Abstract

The behavior of thin films of diblock copolymers under shear has been studied using coarse-grained Langevin dynamics simulations. The morphologies the film exhibits are examined as functions of composition, segregation strength, and the strength of the shear field. Below the order-disorder transition (ODT) the film generates a rich variety of structures corresponding to a monolayer of compressed micelles. Once a shear field is applied and above a critical shear rate, the system self-assembles into cylindrical micelles with orientation parallel to the shear direction, in agreement to experimental observations. In addition to formation of cylinders parallel to the sheared direction, we have identified the conditions under which cylinders under the influence of shear flow adopt an orientation perpendicular to the shear flow. The segregation strength is the main parameter that triggers the order-order steady state orientation transition.

Graphical abstract: Ultra thin films of diblock copolymers under shear

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 Feb 2010
Accepted
14 Apr 2010
First published
07 Jun 2010

Soft Matter, 2010,6, 3588-3595

Ultra thin films of diblock copolymers under shear

A. Chremos, K. Margaritis and A. Z. Panagiotopoulos, Soft Matter, 2010, 6, 3588 DOI: 10.1039/C003198D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements