Droplets of structured fluid on a flat substrateKim, J. U. and Matsen, M. W. (2009) Droplets of structured fluid on a flat substrate. Soft Matter, 5. pp. 2889-2895. ISSN 1744-683X Full text not archived in this repository. It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing. To link to this item DOI: 10.1039/b905163e Abstract/SummaryWe study the equilibrium morphology of droplets of symmetric AB diblock copolymer on a flat substrate. Using self-consistent field theory (SCFT), we provide the first predictions for the equilibrium droplet shape and its internal structure. When the sustrate affinity for the A component, $\eta_A$, is small, the droplet adopts a nearly spherical shape much like that of simple fluids. Inside the spherical droplet, however, concentric circular lamellar layers stack on top of each other; hence the thickness of the droplet is effectively quantized by a half-integer or integer number of layers. At larger $\eta_A$ and smaller contact angle, the area of the upper-most layer becomes relatively large, resulting in a nearly flat, faceted top surface, followed by a semi-spherical slope. This geometry is remarkably reminiscent of the droplet shapes observed with smetic liquid crystals.
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