Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T02:57:40.660Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Spontaneous Formation of Nanopores and Nanorings in a PS-b-PEO Block Co-Polymer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2012

Taiwo R. Alabi ,
Dajun Yuan  and
Suman Das
Taiwo R. Alabi
Affiliation:
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-3045, U.S.A.
Dajun Yuan
Affiliation:
Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of technology, Atlanta, GA 30332--3045, U.S.A.
Suman Das
Affiliation:
Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of technology, Atlanta, GA 30332--3045, U.S.A.
Get access

Abstract

PS-b-PEO block co-polymers have been reported to form cylindrical, lamellar, gyroidic, and supramolecular architectures due to several reasons: some of the reasons include the chemical incompatibility between the lipophilic and lipophobic covalently cross-linked blocks resulting in a high Flory-Huggins interaction parameter, the annealing solvent, and the interfacial boundary conditions between the substrate and the phase separating blocks. We report here for the first time on the spontaneous formation of nanopores and nanorings in PS-b-PEO block co-polymers. The mean size and depth of the pores are about 150nm and 40nm, respectively, while the pores occur randomly placed in clusters of about 2-5 pores. The pore clusters leave behind a breath-like architecture replicated by the phase separating block co-polymer. These breath architectures, in the shape of nanorings, are formed during the initial period of phase separation and do not disappear after phase separation has been achieved, leaving behind a PS-enriched circular framework. The diameter of the nanorings is in the 200-700nm range, as measured from AFM phase and height images. This range falls within the reported size of water droplets forming breath structures on polymer films. The resulting nanoarchitectured materials could find potential applications where biocompatibility and water permeability of the PEO block within the nanopores is desirable. In addition, the slightly elevated nanorings could also provide semi-enclosed barriers that can serve as micro/nano-enclosed cell and tissue cultures.

Keywords

nanostructurepolymerphase transformation
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1411: Symposium EE – Self Organization and Nanoscale Pattern Formation , 2012 , mrsf11-1411-ee03-05
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Peinemann, K.-V., Abetz, V. and Simon, P. F. W., Nat Mater 6(12), 992–996 (2007).Google Scholar
2. Lin, Z. Q., Kim, D. H., Wu, X. D., Boosahda, L., Stone, D., LaRose, L. and Russell, T. P., Advanced Materials 14(19), 1373–1376 (2002).Google Scholar
3. Kim, S. H., Misner, M. J., Yang, L., Gang, O., Ocko, B. M. and Russell, T. P., Macromolecules 39(24), 8473–8479 (2006).Google Scholar
4. Kim, S. H., Misner, M. J. and Russell, T. P., Advanced Materials 16(23-24), 2119–2123 (2004).Google Scholar
5. Sohn, B.-H., Seo, B.-W. and Yoo, S.-I., Journal of Materials Chemistry 12(6), 1730–1734 (2002).Google Scholar
6. Bates, F. S. and Fredrickson, G. H., Physics Today 52(2), 32–38 (1999).Google Scholar
7. Bates, F. S., Science 251 (4996), 898–905 (1991).Google Scholar
8. Leibler, L., Macromolecules 13(6), 1602–1617 (1980).Google Scholar
9. Cheng, C., Tian, Y., Shi, Y., Tang, R. and Xi, F., Macromolecular Rapid Communications 26(15), 1266–1272 (2005).Google Scholar
10. Bang, J., Kim, B. J., Stein, G. E., Russell, T. P., Li, X., Wang, J., Kramer, E. J. and Hawker, C. J., Macromolecules 40(19), 7019–7025 (2007).Google Scholar