Ordered packing arrangements of spherical micelles of diblock copolymers in two and three dimensions

• Published in: Macromolecules Vol. 20; no. 11; pp. 2934 - 2939
• Main Authors: Thomas, Edwin L, Kinning, David J, Alward, David B, Henkee, Chris S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01-11-1987
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Exact sciences and technology; Organic polymers; Physicochemistry of polymers; Properties and characterization; Structure, morphology and analysis; Butadiene copolymer; Spherical shape; Ordered packing; Transmission electron microscopy; Diblock copolymer; Micelle; X ray scattering; Structure; Styrene copolymer
• ISSN: 0024-9297; 1520-5835
• DOI: 10.1021/ma00177a049

Structural data are presented on the ordered arrangements of spherical micelles of diblock styrene--butadiene copolymers in two dimensions (transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of solution cast films containing a single layer of domains) and in three dimensions (TEM of microtomed sections and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) from bulk samples). The lattice type of the micelle cores in the two-dimensional thin film is hexagonal, and, in the three-dimensional bulk state, it is body centered cubic. A simple packing model that addresses the problem of uniform covering of the matrix space by the corona chains for a given lattice suggests that considerable interpenetration of neighboring micelle segmental density profiles occurs. The mode of packing is dictated by the optimal covering lattice that minimizes the unfavorable deformation of the matrix chains as they uniformly fill the matrix space. 20 ref.--AA