Self-assembly of rod-coil-rod triblock copolymers: A route toward hierarchical liquid crystalline structures

Li, Yongliang; Jiang, Tao; Wang, Liquan; Lin, Shaoliang; Lin, Jiaping

doi:10.1016/j.polymer.2016.09.028

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 60 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…One notes that in contrast to the system simulated in Ref. [ 56 ], the segments of the rods are completely equivalent in the present model and hence the phase separation should be driven by some entropy effects. One may assume that in the lamellar phase existing at lower concentration of rods, both short and long rods are mainly located in the same layer and, therefore, the triblock macromolecules are mainly in the hairpin conformation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Microphase separation of triblock copolymers in the bulk can be effectively addressed provided that they contain no rigid blocks [ 53 ], while the studies of roil-coil-rod systems are still scarce since rearrangements of stacked rods take a lot of computation time in the absence of solvent. After the first Monte Carlo simulation of rod-coil-rod and coil-rod-coil aggregation in thin films [ 54 ], only two papers have been published up to date: A DPD study of rod-coil-rod copolymer self-assembly within a planar slit [ 55 ], where parallel half-cylinders and arrowhead-shaped morphology appeared for the copolymers with long symmetric rods, and a Brownian dynamics study [ 56 ], in which liquid crystalline ordering which leads to the hierarchical lamellar-in-lamella structures peculiar to such copolymers was addressed. In the present study, we simulate asymmetric rod-coil-rod triblock copolymers using the DPD technique previously applied by us for the investigation of the tilted phase in rod-coil diblock copolymers [ 45 , 57 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Liquid-Crystal Ordering and Microphase Separation in the Lamellar Phase of Rod-Coil-Rod Triblock Copolymers. Molecular Theory and Computer Simulations

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A molecular model of the orientationally ordered lamellar phase exhibited by asymmetric rod-coil-rod triblock copolymers has been developed using the density-functional approach and generalizing the molecular-statistical theory of rod-coil diblock copolymers. An approximate expression for the free energy of the lamellar phase has been obtained in terms of the direct correlation functions of the system, the Flory-Huggins parameter and the Maier-Saupe orientational interaction potential between rods. A detailed derivation of several rod-rod and rod-coil density-density correlation functions required to evaluate the free energy is presented. The orientational and translational order parameters of rod and coil segments depending on the temperature and triblock asymmetry have been calculated numerically by direct minimization of the free energy. Different structure and ordering of the lamellar phase at high and low values of the triblock asymmetry is revealed and analyzed in detail. Asymmetric rod-coil-rod triblock copolymers have been simulated using the method of dissipative particle dynamics in the broad range of the Flory-Huggins parameter and for several values of the triblock asymmetry. It has been found that the lamellar phase appears to be the most stable one at strong segregation. The density distribution of the coil segments and the segments of the two different rods have been determined for different values of the segregation strength. The simulations confirm the existence of a weakly ordered lamellar phase predicted by the density-functional theory, in which the short rods separate from the long ones and are characterized by weak positional ordering.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid-Crystal Ordering and Microphase Separation in the Lamellar Phase of Rod-Coil-Rod Triblock Copolymers. Molecular Theory and Computer Simulations

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…88 In addition to the aforementioned experimental results, studies on simulating the self-assembly behaviors of rod-coil BCPs or LC BCPs have also been reported, showing the possible anisotropic morphologies and influencing factors in the related systems. 89,90 Researchers used a dissipative particle dynamics approach and found that the orientation interaction between the rod blocks will lead the self-assembly of BCPs and result in parallel packing of the rod blocks. Due to the anisotropic LC ordering, the interface between the core and shell was deformed and non-spherical assemblies could be obtained.…”

Section: Traditional Solution Self-assemblymentioning

confidence: 99%

Self‐assembly of side‐chain liquid crystalline block copolymers to anisotropic polymeric nanoparticles

Sun

Deng

Chen

2023

Polymer International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Anisotropic polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted considerable attention due to their morphology-dependent applications in the fields of nanocatalysts, drug delivery and sensors. By introducing liquid crystalline (LC) driving force into NPs, the region of non-spherical shapes in phase diagrams can be broadened effectively, which attracts great interest of many researchers. LC mesogens can be easily introduced to monomers, such as acrylates and methacrylates, as side groups connected by spacers with tunable length, and then side-chain LC polymers can be acquired after polymerization accordingly. Among these polymers, amphiphilic block copolymers (BCPs) have been widely studied, attributed to their property of spontaneous assembly into NPs under appropriate conditions. In this review, based on traditional solution self-assembly and polymerization-induced self-assembly, the recent research into side-chain LC BCP NPs is elaborated in terms of the aspects of the types of LC mesogens, LC phases, morphologies and functionalities. Finally, we summarize recent progress, and prospect the development trend in the future.

show abstract

Brownian Dynamics Simulations of Rigid Polyelectrolyte Chains Grafting to Spherical Colloid

Hao

Zheng

et al. 2018

Chin J Polym Sci

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Self-assembly of rod-coil-rod triblock copolymers: A route toward hierarchical liquid crystalline structures

Cited by 7 publications

References 60 publications

Liquid-Crystal Ordering and Microphase Separation in the Lamellar Phase of Rod-Coil-Rod Triblock Copolymers. Molecular Theory and Computer Simulations

Liquid-Crystal Ordering and Microphase Separation in the Lamellar Phase of Rod-Coil-Rod Triblock Copolymers. Molecular Theory and Computer Simulations

Self‐assembly of side‐chain liquid crystalline block copolymers to anisotropic polymeric nanoparticles

Brownian Dynamics Simulations of Rigid Polyelectrolyte Chains Grafting to Spherical Colloid

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About