Vertical Cylinder-to-Lamella Transition in Thin Block Copolymer Films Induced by In-Plane Electric Field

Morphological transition between hexagonal and lamellar patterns in thin polystyrene–<i>block</i>–poly(4-vinyl pyridine) films simultaneously exposed to a strong in-plane electric field and saturated solvent vapor is studied with atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. In these co...

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Main Authors: Alexey S. Merekalov, Yaroslav I. Derikov, Vladimir V. Artemov, Alexander A. Ezhov, Yaroslav V. Kudryavtsev
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-11-01
Series:Polymers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/22/3959
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author Alexey S. Merekalov
Yaroslav I. Derikov
Vladimir V. Artemov
Alexander A. Ezhov
Yaroslav V. Kudryavtsev
author_facet Alexey S. Merekalov
Yaroslav I. Derikov
Vladimir V. Artemov
Alexander A. Ezhov
Yaroslav V. Kudryavtsev
author_sort Alexey S. Merekalov
collection DOAJ
description Morphological transition between hexagonal and lamellar patterns in thin polystyrene–<i>block</i>–poly(4-vinyl pyridine) films simultaneously exposed to a strong in-plane electric field and saturated solvent vapor is studied with atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. In these conditions, standing cylinders made of 4-vinyl pyridine blocks arrange into threads up to tens of microns long along the field direction and then partially merge into standing lamellas. In the course of rearrangement, the copolymer remains strongly segregated, with the minor component domains keeping connectivity between the film surfaces. The ordering tendency becomes more pronounced if the cylinders are doped with Au nanorods, which can increase their dielectric permittivity. Non-selective chloroform vapor works particularly well, though it causes partial etching of the indium tin oxide cathode. On the contrary, 1,4-dioxane vapor selective to polystyrene matrix does not allow for any morphological changes.
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spelling doaj.art-870855a4a8e74dc5b723c0efe4f127fe2023-11-23T01:09:29ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602021-11-011322395910.3390/polym13223959Vertical Cylinder-to-Lamella Transition in Thin Block Copolymer Films Induced by In-Plane Electric FieldAlexey S. Merekalov0Yaroslav I. Derikov1Vladimir V. Artemov2Alexander A. Ezhov3Yaroslav V. Kudryavtsev4Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, RussiaTopchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, RussiaShubnikov Institute of Crystallography, Federal Scientific Research Centre “Crystallography and Photonics”, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119333 Moscow, RussiaTopchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, RussiaTopchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, RussiaMorphological transition between hexagonal and lamellar patterns in thin polystyrene–<i>block</i>–poly(4-vinyl pyridine) films simultaneously exposed to a strong in-plane electric field and saturated solvent vapor is studied with atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. In these conditions, standing cylinders made of 4-vinyl pyridine blocks arrange into threads up to tens of microns long along the field direction and then partially merge into standing lamellas. In the course of rearrangement, the copolymer remains strongly segregated, with the minor component domains keeping connectivity between the film surfaces. The ordering tendency becomes more pronounced if the cylinders are doped with Au nanorods, which can increase their dielectric permittivity. Non-selective chloroform vapor works particularly well, though it causes partial etching of the indium tin oxide cathode. On the contrary, 1,4-dioxane vapor selective to polystyrene matrix does not allow for any morphological changes.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/22/3959block copolymersmicrophase separationelectric fieldsolvent vaporatomic force microscopy
spellingShingle Alexey S. Merekalov
Yaroslav I. Derikov
Vladimir V. Artemov
Alexander A. Ezhov
Yaroslav V. Kudryavtsev
Vertical Cylinder-to-Lamella Transition in Thin Block Copolymer Films Induced by In-Plane Electric Field
Polymers
block copolymers
microphase separation
electric field
solvent vapor
atomic force microscopy
title Vertical Cylinder-to-Lamella Transition in Thin Block Copolymer Films Induced by In-Plane Electric Field
title_full Vertical Cylinder-to-Lamella Transition in Thin Block Copolymer Films Induced by In-Plane Electric Field
title_fullStr Vertical Cylinder-to-Lamella Transition in Thin Block Copolymer Films Induced by In-Plane Electric Field
title_full_unstemmed Vertical Cylinder-to-Lamella Transition in Thin Block Copolymer Films Induced by In-Plane Electric Field
title_short Vertical Cylinder-to-Lamella Transition in Thin Block Copolymer Films Induced by In-Plane Electric Field
title_sort vertical cylinder to lamella transition in thin block copolymer films induced by in plane electric field
topic block copolymers
microphase separation
electric field
solvent vapor
atomic force microscopy
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/22/3959
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