Category

Self-assembled material

(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialParticle interactionsPhase analysisPolymer researchSAXSSelf-assembled materialSizeTechnique

Order–Order Phase Transitions Induced by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide in Triblock Copolymer Thin Films

Abate, Anabella A.; Vu, Giang Thi; Piqueras, Cristian M.; del Barrio, María Cecilia; Gómez, Leopoldo R.; Catalini, Gabriel; Schmid, Friederike; Vega, Daniel A.

We study the influence of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) on the phase behavior of a cylinder-forming polystyrene-block-polybutadiene-b-polystyrene triblock copolymer thin film. Solvent annealing with scCO2 can produce patterns with long-range order but these structures become unstable for thin films with small thicknesses. These results are in good agreement with self-consistent…
12 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialPolymer researchSAXSSelf-assembled materialTechnique

CO2-Triggered and temperature-switchable crystallization-driven self-assembly of a semicrystalline block copolymer in aqueous medium

Zhu, Rui; Luo, Xinjie; Feng, Yujun; Billon, Laurent

The synthesis of a semicrystalline block copolymer comprising a hydrophilic poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) pure block and an amphiphilic poly(acrylic acid)-r-poly(octadecyl acrylate) (PAA-r-PODA) random block by nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP) is reported. The aggregation behavior of the copolymer in aqueous medium was studied by using a MicroCal VP differential scanning calorimeter (VP-DSC)…
12 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialNanoparticles & colloidsParticlesPolymer researchSAXSSelf-assembled materialShapeSizeTechnique

Anisotropic polymer nanoparticles with controlled dimensions from the morphological transformation of isotropic seeds

Hua, Zan; Jones, Joseph R.; Thomas, Marjolaine; Arno, Maria C.; Souslov, Anton; Wilks, Thomas R.; O’Reilly, Rachel K.

Understanding and controlling self-assembly processes at multiple length scales is vital if we are to design and create advanced materials. In particular, our ability to organise matter on the nanoscale has advanced considerably, but still lags far behind our skill in manipulating individual molecules. New tools allowing controlled nanoscale assembly…
12 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsInorganic materialInorganic materialsMaterialSAXSSelf-assembled materialShapeSizeTechnique

Gold and silver dichroic nanocomposite in the quest for 3D printing the Lycurgus cup

Kool, Lars; Dekker, Floris; Bunschoten, Anton; Smales, Glen J.; Pauw, Brian R.; Velders, Aldrik H.; Saggiomo, Vittorio

The Lycurgus cup is an ancient glass artefact that shows dichroism as it looks green when a white light is reflected on it and a red colouring appears when a white light is transmitted through it. This peculiar dichroic effect is due to silver and gold nanoparticles present in the…
12 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsLiquid crystalsMaterialPhase analysisPolymer researchSAXSSelf-assembled materialTechniqueTemperature

Self-assembly of a silicon-containing side-chain liquid crystalline block copolymer in bulk and in thin films: kinetic pathway of a cylinder to sphere transition

Liao, Fen; Shi, Ling-Ying; Cheng, Li-Chen; Lee, Sangho; Ran, Rong; Yager, Kevin G.; Ross, Caroline A.

The self-assembly of a high-? silicon-containing side-chain liquid crystalline block copolymer (LC BCP) in bulk and in thin films is reported, and the structural transition process from the hexagonally packed cylinder (HEX) to the body-centered cubic structure (BCC) in thin films was examined by both reciprocal and real space experimental…
5 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialNanoparticles & colloidsPhase analysisPorous materialSAXSSelf-assembled materialTechnique

Shape and phase controlled synthesis of mesostructured carbon single crystals through mesoscale self-assembly of reactive monomicelles and their unprecedented exfoliation into single-layered carbon nanoribbons

Wang, Tianping; Sun, Yanbin; Wu, Jiali; Liu, Xiangyang; Pan, Ruping; Liu, Xikui

The formation of mesostructured polymer and carbon single-crystals is very difficult due to increased complexity of the energy hypersurface and the role of slowed-down kinetics. Here we reported the synthesis of ordered mesostructured phloroglucinol-formaldehyde single crystals through mesoscale self-assembly of reactive monomicelles under acidic conditions which were traditionally thought very…
5 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialPhase analysisPolymer researchSAXSSelf-assembled materialTechniqueTemperature

Identification of a Frank-Kasper Z phase from shape amphiphile self-assembly

Su, Zebin; Hsu, Chih-Hao; Gong, Zihao; Feng, Xueyan; Huang, Jiahao; Zhang, Ruimeng; Wang, Yu; Mao, Jialin; Wesdemiotis, Chrys; Li, Tao; Seifert, Soenke; Zhang, Wei; Aida, Takuzo; Huang, Mingjun; Cheng, Stephen Z. D.

Frank–Kasper phases, a family of ordered structures formed from particles with spherical motifs, are found in a host of materials, such as metal alloys, inorganic colloids and various types of soft matter. All the experimentally observed Frank–Kasper phases can be constructed from the basic units of three fundamental structures called…
5 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialOtherPolymer researchSAXSSelf-assembled materialTechniqueTemperature

Two-Step Chemical Transformation of Polystyrene-block-poly(solketal acrylate) Copolymers for Increasing ?

Yu, Duk Man; Smith, Darren M.; Kim, Hyeyoung; Rzayev, Javid; Russell, Thomas P.

We investigated the two-step chemical transformation of a series of symmetric poly(styrene-b-solketal acrylate) (PS-b-PSA) copolymers with varying molecular weights from 1900 to 27?300 g/mol (13 ? N ? 194) synthesized by sequential atom transfer radical polymerization. Through acid-catalyzed hydrolysis, the PSA block is converted into poly(glycerol acrylate) (PGA), which subsequently…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialPolymer researchSAXSSelf-assembled materialTechnique

Fragmentation of 1,2-Polybutadiene-block-Poly(ethylene oxide) Micelles in Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids

Early, Julia T.; Lodge, Timothy P.

The effect of solvent selectivity on the fragmentation kinetics of spherical micelles formed by a 1,2-polybutadiene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) “BO” copolymer in five 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquids (ILs), (, where n = methyl, ethyl, butyl, hexyl, and octyl) was investigated by temperature-jump dynamic light scattering (T-jump DLS),…
27 January 2020
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialOtherPolymer researchSAXSSelf-assembled materialTechnique

Tailoring the pore size and permeability of isoporous membranes through blending with poly(ethylene glycol): Toward the balance of macro- and microphase separation

Yang, Cao-ying; Zhu, Guo-dong; Yi, Zhuan; Qiu, Ya-yu; Liu, Li-fen; Gao, Cong-jie

Isoporous membranes prepared from the combination of self-assembly and non-solvent induced phase inversion (SNIPS) were known for their asymmetric structures that were characterized with an isoporous top layer and porous/interconnected sublayer. This unique feature provides an opportunity to tailor the structure on toplayer and sublayer separately or synchronously by adjusting…
27 January 2020