Thin films of complexed block copolymers

Abstract

Due to their ability to microphase separate into well ordered structures with periodicities on the nanometre scale, block copolymers have received widespread attention as building blocks for the fabrication of nanomaterials. In particular, thin films of block copolymers promise new technological breakthroughs in e.g. computer memory applications. This Review gives a short overview of progress that has been made in preparing suitable thin films of conventional coil-coil diblock copolymer systems, while the advantages as well as the complexities of using more unconventional systems such as triblock copolymers and supramolecular systems are emphasized. Gerrit tenBrinke obtained his PhD in Statistical Physics from the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. He spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In 1985 he became Associate Professor in the Polymer Department of the University of Groningen and in 1996 Professor. During 1994-1999 he was also part time Professor at the Helsinki University of Technology working closely together with Olli Ikkala. His research interests are self-assembly in complex polymer systems.

The height of cell-adhesive nanoposts generated by block copolymer/surfactant complex systems influences the preosteoblast phenotype

“…Their morphology can be controlled by changing the block composition and interaction strength, while the characteristic size of the self-assembled structures can be adjusted by varying the molecular weight of the constituent polymers. Indeed, block copolymers can be used to generate well-controlled, periodic patterns that can be used as templates or scaffolds in various applications ranging from microelectronics to biosensors [23][24][25].…”

Fabrication of composite thin films with microstructures of honeycomb, foam, and nanosphere arrays through adsorption and self-assembly of block copolymers at the liquid/liquid interface

“…Recently, the self-assembly of polymers, especially block copolymers, has aroused an increasing research interest [15,16] due to their abundant self-assembly behaviors. The micellization and microphase separation of block copolymers in solutions and thin films have been utilized extensively to fabricate the organized composite structures of polymer/nanoparticles [17][18][19][20].…”

Nanoporous Gold Film Prepared by the Epoxidation of Poly(styrene‐b‐butadiene) Diblock Copolymer Templated Micelles

“…[ 11 ] By templating the self-assembly of small molecules, surfactant, and block copolymers, nanoporous structures with different sizes can be prepared. [12][13][14] The porous structure generated by template removal has pore sizes in the range of 10 nm to 1 μ m. Wiesner and co-workers [ 15 ] reported that the self-assembly of a block copolymer and ligand-stabilized platinum NPs at a high NP loading produced an ordered mesoporous platinum-carbon nanocomposite with open and large pores ( > 10 nm) after the pyrolysis of the inverse hexagonal hybrid mesostrucuture.…”