Abstract
Using self-consistent field theory, the Plumber's Nightmare and the double diamond phases are predicted to be stable in a finite region of phase diagrams for blends of AB diblock copolymer (DBC) and A-component homopolymer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the P phase has been predicted to be stable using self-consistent field theory. The stabilization is achieved by tuning the composition or conformational asymmetry of the DBC chain, and the architecture or length of the homopolymer. The basic features of the phase diagrams are the same in all cases studied, suggesting a general type of behavior for these systems. Finally, it is noted that the homopolymer length should be a convenient variable to stabilize bicontinuous phases in experiments. © 2009 American Chemical Society.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 9058-9062 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Macromolecules |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue number | 22 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 24 2009 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): KUS-C1-018-02
Acknowledgements: We are very grateful to Prof. David Morse and his student Jian Qin for providing the code and guidance to implement the SCFT calculations. We are also grateful to Prof. U. Wiesner for helpful discussions. This publication is based on work supported in part by Award No. KUS-C1-018-02, made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). Additional support from the National Science Foundation Award 0756248 is also gratefully acknowledged.
This publication acknowledges KAUST support, but has no KAUST affiliated authors.