The self-assembly behavior of ABA coil-rod-coil triblock copolymers in a selective solvent was studied by a Brownian molecular dynamics simulation method. It was found that the rod midblock plays an important role in the self-assembly of the copolymers. With a decrease in the segregation strength, ɛRR, of rod pairs, the aggregate structure first varies from a smecticlike disk shape to a long twisted string micelle and then to small aggregates. The influence of the block length and the asymmetry of the triblock copolymer on the phase behavior were studied and the corresponding phase diagrams were mapped. It was revealed that the variation of these parameters has a profound effect on microstructure. The simulation results are consistent with experimental results. Compared to rod-coil diblock copolymers, the coil-rod-coil triblock copolymers has a larger entropy penalty associated with the interfacial grafting density of the aggregate, leading to a higher ɛRR value for structural transitions.
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7 July 2011
Research Article|
July 05 2011
Self-assembly behavior of ABA coil-rod-coil triblock copolymers: A Brownian dynamics simulation approach
Yongliang Li;
Yongliang Li
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering,
East China University of Science and Technology
, Shanghai 200237, China
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Shaoliang Lin;
Shaoliang Lin
a)
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering,
East China University of Science and Technology
, Shanghai 200237, China
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Xiaohua He;
Xiaohua He
2Department of Chemistry,
East China Normal University
, Shanghai 200062, China
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Jiaping Lin;
Jiaping Lin
a)
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering,
East China University of Science and Technology
, Shanghai 200237, China
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Tao Jiang
Tao Jiang
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering,
East China University of Science and Technology
, Shanghai 200237, China
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a)
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic addresses: linshaoliang@hotmail.com and jplinlab@online.sh.cn.
J. Chem. Phys. 135, 014102 (2011)
Article history
Received:
October 20 2010
Accepted:
June 02 2011
Citation
Yongliang Li, Shaoliang Lin, Xiaohua He, Jiaping Lin, Tao Jiang; Self-assembly behavior of ABA coil-rod-coil triblock copolymers: A Brownian dynamics simulation approach. J. Chem. Phys. 7 July 2011; 135 (1): 014102. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3606396
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