Templated nanostructured PS‐b‐PEO nanotubes

Abstract

With anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes as wetting templates, nanotubes of the cylinder-forming polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) copolymer were generated. The PS-b-PEO solution was introduced into the cylindrical nanopores of an AAO membrane by capillary force and polymeric nanotubes formed after solvent evaporation. Because of the water solubility of the cylindrical PEO microdomains and the orientation of the cylindrical PEO microdomains with respect to the nanotube walls, the nanotubes were permeable to aqueous media. PS-b-PEO nanotubes were also prepared on the interior walls of amorphous carbon nanotubes (a-CNTs). Because of the unique water permeability of the PEO microdomains, an avenue for functionalizing the interior of the a-CNTs is enabled. V V C 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45:

Thin Film Instabilities in Blends under Cylindrical Confinement

“…The rate at which polymers are drawn into the pores is strongly dependent on the molecular weight of the polymer, with higher molecular weight polymers being drawn in much more slowly, and, as such, Zhang et al12 demonstrated that the AAO membranes could be used to effectively separate polymers based on their molecular weight. Numerous studies have appeared using AAO membranes as a scaffold and template for generating nanorods and nanotubes of homopolymers,10, 12 block copolymers,13, 14 composite materials 15. Chen et al16 recently demonstrated that nanotubes of polymers confined within the AAO membranes can exhibit Rayleigh instabilities with periodic variations in the film thickness along the nanotube.…”

Self-assembly of semicrystalline PE-b-PS diblock copolymers within AAO nanoporous templates

“…31 We study in this paper, for the first time, the morphology of PE-b-PS diblock copolymers infiltrated within AAO templates and its relation with the crystallization behavior of the PE block. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first time that the morphology of infiltrated semi-crystalline diblock copolymers is revealed, since previous works have dealt with the morphology of infiltrated amorphous diblock copolymers.…”

“…As far as the authors are aware, this is the first time that the morphology of infiltrated semi-crystalline diblock copolymers is revealed, since previous works have dealt with the morphology of infiltrated amorphous diblock copolymers. 31 32 38 40 41 42 43 47 The precursors of the materials employed were poly(1,4-butadiene)-block-polystyrene diblock copolymers (PB-b-PS). The synthesis of these materials was reported previously.…”

An Emerging Pore‐Making Strategy: Confined Swelling‐Induced Pore Generation in Block Copolymer Materials

“…They released BCP tubes from the templates and exposed them to a 4:1 water:methanol mixture for 24 h to swell the PEO domains, leading to the production of BCP nanotubes with porous walls. [ 74 ] Although the fi nal products were 1D nanotubes, the tube wall was very to write arbitrary patterns onto BCP fi lms by crosslinking and consequently affords the freedom to fabricate different materials with the corresponding patterning.…”