Single gyroid in H-shaped block copolymers
So Jung Park, Frank S. Bates, Kevin D. Dorfman
Abstract
The beautiful colors we observe in nature, such as butterfly wing scales, reveal how nature precisely controls the propagation of light by creating photonic crystals, such as the single gyroid network. Recreating these chiral networks in synthetic materials, especially self-assembled block polymers, offers great potential applications as next-generation optical devices. However, single gyroid is thermodynamically unfavorable in linear diblock copolymers owing to the molecular packing mechanisms. This study uses self-consistent field theory to elucidate the design principles for stabilizing single gyroid in a synthetically tractable block copolymer architecture.
Topics & Concepts
GyroidCopolymerMaterials sciencePolymerNanotechnologyBlock (permutation group theory)Polymer scienceChemical physicsComposite materialMathematicsGeometryPhysicsBlock Copolymer Self-AssemblyLiquid Crystal Research AdvancementsMesoporous Materials and Catalysis