Transformation of self‐assembled structures from spherical aggregates in solution to a network structure on a two‐dimensional surface

Abstract

Self-assembled films of brush-like amphiphilic copolymers with varying hydrophobic contents (fc 12 , 10-90 mol %) were prepared on glass slides. In addition, the surface tension and contact angles of solutions of these copolymers were also investigated. By combining the data obtained investigating the morphologies of the films, with the micropolarities, dimensions, and morphologies of the copolymer aggregates in solution phase, it was attempted to illustrate how the self-assembled structures would adapt to a change in their surrounding environment from a three-dimensional space in the solution phase into a two-dimensional solid surface. The copolymer chains underwent inter-and intramolecular hydrophobic association simultaneously in the solution phase. When fc 12 was increased, the stronger hydrophobicity led the side-chains that were attached to the same backbone to become packed together, and this intramolecular association caused the copolymers to form smaller and more compact spherical aggregates. The solutions of these smaller and more compact spherical aggregates exhibited a lower surface tension and better wetting behavior on glass surfaces. In addition, these solutions ultimately formed thinner and more orderly network-based porous films on glass surfaces. The observations described in this report revealed that the copolymer assemblies exhibited a morphological transformation from spherical aggregates in solution to a network structure when the copolymer became confined to a solid surface. V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl.Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41945.