https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2008-10402-8
Regular Article
Kinetics of layer hopping in a diblock copolymer lamellar phase
1
Department of Physics & Astronomy and the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
2
Department of Mathematics, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, UK
* e-mail: dalnoki@mcmaster.ca
Received:
3
November
2008
Accepted:
11
November
2008
Published online:
9
December
2008
In the ordered state, symmetric diblock copolymers self-assemble into an anisotropic lamellar morphology. The equilibrium thickness of the lamellae is the result of a delicate balance between enthalpic and entropic energies, which can be tuned by controlling the temperature. Here we devise a simple yet powerful method of detecting tiny changes in the lamellar thickness using optical microscopy. From such measurements we characterize the enthalpic interaction as well as the kinetics of molecules as they hop from one layer to the next in order to adjust the lamellar thickness in response to a temperature jump. The resolution of the measurements facilitate a direct comparison to predictions from self-consistent field theory.
PACS: 83.80.Uv Block copolymers – / 68.47.Mn Polymer surfaces – / 82.35.Jk Copolymers, phase transitions, structure – / 68.55.J- Morphology of films –
© EDP Sciences, SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2008
