Macromolecules, Vol.44, No.10, 3910-3915, 2011
Double-Gyroid Network Morphology in Tapered Diblock Copolymers
We report the formation of a double-gyroid network morphology in normal-tapered poly(isoprene-b-isoprene/styrene-b-styrene) [P(I-IS-S)] and inverse-tapered poly (isoprene-b-styrene/isoprene-b-styrene) [P(I-SI-S)] diblock copolymers. Our tapered diblock copolymers with overall poly(styrene) volume fractions of 0.65 (normal-tapered) and 0.67 (inverse-tapered), and tapered regions comprising 30 vol % of the total polymer, were shown to self-assemble into the double-gyroid network morphology through a combination of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The block copolymers were synthesized by anionic polymerization, where the tapered region between the pure poly(isoprene) and poly(styrene) blocks was generated using a semibatch feed with programmed syringe pumps. The overall composition of these tapered copolymers lies within the expected network-forming region for conventional poly(isoprene-b-styrene) [P(I-S)] diblock copolymers. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) clearly demonstrated that the order-disorder transition temperatures (T-ODT's) of the network-forming tapered block copolymers were depressed when compared to the T-ODT of their nontapered counterpart, with the P(I-SI-S) showing the greater drop in T-ODT. These results indicate that it is possible to manipulate the copolymer composition profile between blocks in a diblock copolymer, allowing significant control over the T-ODT, while maintaining the ability to form complex network structures.