Self-Assembly of Ordered Microporous Materials from Rod-Coil Block Copolymers
Samson A. Jenekhe,
*
X. Linda Chen
Rod-coil diblock copolymers in a selective solvent for the
coil-like polymer self-organize into hollow spherical micelles having
diameters of a few micrometers. Long-range, close-packed self-ordering
of the micelles produced highly iridescent periodic microporous
materials. Solution-cast micellar films consisted of multilayers of
hexagonally ordered arrays of spherical holes whose diameter,
periodicity, and wall thickness depended on copolymer molecular weight
and composition. Addition of fullerenes into the copolymer solutions
also regulated the microstructure and optical properties of the
microporous films. These results demonstrate the potential of
hierarchical self-assembly of macromolecular components for engineering
complex two- and three-dimensional periodic and functional
mesostructures.
Departments of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, University of
Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0166, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
jenekhe{at}che.rochester.edu
