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Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, Vol.56, No.20, 1369-1375, 2018
Highly oriented and ordered microstructures in block copolymer films
Block copolymer (BCP) films with long-range lateral ordering and orientation are crucial for many applications. Here, we report a simple, versatile strategy based on a solution casting procedure, to produce millimeter thick film of BCPs with highly oriented nanostructures. Transmission electron microscope (TEM), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and Hansen solubility parameters were used to study the morphology and interactions of the system. A variety of BCP-solvent pairs were investigated. Factors including set-up geometry, BCP characteristics, solvent evaporation, surface tension, and interactions, such as solvent-BCP, solvent-substrate, and BCP-substrate were examined. A mechanism is proposed to describe the observed long-range lateral ordering and orientation in films up to 1 mm in thickness. (c) 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018, 56, 1369-1375
Keywords:block copolymers;film morphology;long-range ordering;nanostructure orientation;solution cast