Skip to main content
Article
Phase structural formation and oscillation in polystyrene-block-polydimethylsiloxane thin films
Royal Society of Chemistry
  • I-Fan Hsieh, The University Of Akron
  • Hao-Jan Sun, The University Of Akron
  • Qiang Fu
  • Bernard Lotz
  • Kevin Cavicchi, The University of Akron
  • Stephen Z. D. Cheng, The University Of Akron
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-2-2012
Abstract

The solvent-induced spherical structure in a polystyrene-block-polydimethylsiloxane (PS-b-PDMS) block copolymer was obtained and stabilized by preparing both the bulk and thin films from propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA) solutions. The diblock copolymer possessed a total molecular weight of 42 kDa with a PS volume fraction of 72.2%, and it formed a cylindrical phase structure in the equilibrium bulk state. During thermal annealing, only changes in the sphere size and packing rearrangement were found. In contrast, a unique structure evolution route was observed during solvent treatments. Under a controlled vapour of a PS selective solvent, an oscillation of the structural transition between spheres and cylinders was observed in the thin films. The kinetics of this oscillation of structural transition was found to be closely related to the solvent vapour concentration and film thickness. This experiment revealed a unique ordering pathway towards the equilibrium structure in the thin film for this strongly segregated PS-b-PDMS diblock copolymer.

Citation Information
I-Fan Hsieh, Hao-Jan Sun, Qiang Fu, Bernard Lotz, et al.. "Phase structural formation and oscillation in polystyrene-block-polydimethylsiloxane thin films" Royal Society of Chemistry Vol. 8 (2012) p. 7937 - 7944
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kevin_cavicchi/7/