Selective adsorption of flexible polymers, where only a fraction of the "sticker" monomers can be adsorbed, confined to a cylindrical pore, is studied within the self-consistent field theory (SCFT). The selective adsorption, modeled with diblock, alternating, and random distributions of the sticker monomers along the chain, shows different adsorption−desorption transition behaviors: when the polymer chain possesses a high fraction of stickers, the di-block sequence adsorbs better than the alternating and the random sequence. On the other hand, when the polymer chain possesses a low fraction of stickers, the alternating sequence is the most adsorbed chain. Our theory indicates that the correlation between stickers and nonadsorbing monomers (neutrals) enhances the adsorption of polymers at a low fraction of sticker monomers, while it hinders the adsorption of polymers at a high fraction of sticker monomers, revealing the mechanism of adsorption efficiency determined by the sequence of sticker monomers in a polymer chain.
The kinetic paths of structural evolution and formation of block copolymer (BCP) particles are explored using dynamic self‐consistent field theory (DSCFT). It is shown that the process‐directed self‐assembly of BCP immersed in a poor solvent leads to the formation of striped ellipsoids, onion‐like particles and double‐spiral lamellar particles. The theory predicts a reversible path of shape transition between onion‐like particles and striped ellipsoidal ones by regulating the temperature (related to the Flory–Huggins parameter between the two components of BCP, χAB) and the selectivity of solvent toward one of the two BCP components. Furthermore, a kinetic path of shape transition from onion‐like particles to double‐spiral lamellar particles, and then back to onion‐like particles is demonstrated. By investigating the inner‐structural evolution of a BCP particle, it is identified that changing the intermediate bi‐continuous structure into a layered one is crucial for the formation of striped ellipsoidal particles. Another interesting finding is that the formation of onion‐like particles is characterized by a two‐stage microphase separation. The first is induced by the solvent preference, and the second is controlled by the thermodynamics. The findings lead to an effective way of tailoring nanostructure of BCP particles for various industrial applications.
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