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Electric field alignment in thin films of cylinder-forming diblock copolymer

Matsen, M. W. (2006) Electric field alignment in thin films of cylinder-forming diblock copolymer. Macromolecules, 39 (16). pp. 5512-5520. ISSN 0024-9297

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Abstract/Summary

We investigate thin films of cylinder-forming diblock copolymer confined between electrically charged parallel plates, using self-consistent-field theory ( SCFT) combined with an exact treatment for linear dielectric materials. Our study focuses on the competition between the surface interactions, which tend to orient cylinder domains parallel to the plates, and the electric field, which favors a perpendicular orientation. The effect of the electric field on the relative stability of the competing morphologies is demonstrated with equilibrium phase diagrams, calculated with the aid of a weak-field approximation. As hoped, modest electric fields are shown to have a significant stabilizing effect on perpendicular cylinders, particularly for thicker films. Our improved SCFT-based treatment removes most of the approximations implemented by previous approaches, thereby managing to resolve outstanding qualitative inconsistencies among different approximation schemes.

Item Type:Article
Divisions:Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Mathematics and Statistics
ID Code:4894
Uncontrolled Keywords:BLOCK-COPOLYMER MICROPHASE SEPARATION MELTS MICROSTRUCTURE CONFINEMENT TRANSITION POLYMERS LAMELLAE PARALLEL PHASES

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