Macromolecular Rapid Communications, Vol.28, No.16, 1607-1612, 2007
Strategy for better ordering in diblock copolymer based nanocomposites
A simple approach to improve the structural ordering in block copolymer/nanoparticle nanocomposites is presented. It is to blend a small molecular weight homopolymer with the composites, which can uniformly swell the preferred domain where the nanoparticles locate and increase the conformational entropy of the domain. Consequently, the interfaces between the block copolymer domains become smooth that improves the long range order in the nanocomposites. Furthermore, the uniform swelling of the preferred domain by the homopolymer will allow higher loading of nanopaiticles without adversely affecting the long range order.