Cell Dynamic Simulations of Diblock Copolymer/Colloid Systems

Abstract

The presence of nanoparticles in a diblock copolymer leads to changes in the morphology and properties of the matrix and can produce highly organized hybrid materials. The resulting material properties depend not only on the polymer composition but also on the size, shape, and surface properties of the colloids. The dynamics of this kind of systems using a hybrid mesoscopic approach has been studied in this work. A continuum description for the polymer is used, while colloids are individually resolved. The method allows for a variable preference of the colloids, which can have different sizes, to the different components the block copolymer is made of. The impact that the nanoparticle preference for either, both, or none of the blocks has on the collective properties of nanoparticle-block copolymer composites can be analyzed. Several experimental results are reproduced covering colloid-induced phase transition, particles' placement within the matrix, and the role of incompatibilities between colloids and monomers.

arXiv commentArticle

References in corpus (1)

• Morphology Selection of Nanoparticle Dispersions by Polymer Media

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Phase Behavior of Block Copolymer Nanocomposite Systems
• Block copolymer-nanorod co-assembly in thin films: effects of rod-rod interaction and confinement
• Non-spherical nanoparticles in block copolymer composites: nanosquares, nanorods and diamonds
• Co-assembly of Janus nanoparticles in block copolymer systems
• Large scale three dimensional simulations of hybrid block copolymer/nanoparticle systems
• The self-assembly behavior of a diblock copolymer/homopolymer induced by Janus nanorods