Inverted Spherical Microdomains from A(AB<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub> Dendron-Shaped Miktoarm Star Copolymer
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초록
내용
Spherical microdomains are of significant interest due to their importance in understanding various crystalline orders. However, the expansion of the spherical region beyond f = 0.5 is challenging due to their large interfacial curvature. Miktoarm star copolymers can efficiently shift phase boundaries towards higher volume fractions, forming a spontaneous curvature toward the major block. Here, we synthesized A(AB3)3 miktoarm star copolymer using polystyrene (A) and poly(2-vinylpyridine) (B). The body-centered cubic (BCC) phase was observed even at fPS = 0.51, where PS blocks became spheres rather than a matrix. This remarkable expansion of the spherical region is attributed to the unique chain architecture of A(AB3)3, where three generations of arms provide a gradual radial distribution towards the A domain. The experimental results were consistent with the predictions based on self-consistent field theory (SCFT).