PEO-b-PE elongated micelles dispersed in a visible-light photopolymerized epoxy matrix

I. A. ZUCCHI; M. J. YAÑEZ; W. SCHROEDER

Sitges

Congreso; Frontiers in Polymer Science; 2013

Self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules provides a fundamental mechanism for building complex soft materials. This report describes the preparation of thermoset materials containing self-assembled nanostructures of a low-molecular-weight poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(ethylene) (PEO-b-PE) diblock copolymer dispersed in a epoxy matrix. Afirst characterization done by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of samples containing up to 20 wt% PEO-b-PE showed elongated micelles dispersed in the epoxy matrix without any macroscopic phase separation evidence. These micelles were typically on the order of 20 to 30 nm in width with variable lengths, comprised between 1 and greater than 10 microns, depending on block copolymer concentration. We were able to explore the growth mechanism of these micelles by following the evolution of the DRX (X-Ray Diffraction) pattern corresponding to semicrystalline PE moiety. Additional Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments are currently under study in order to understand the formation mechanism and structural features of this intriguing system.