Self-Assembly of Well-Defined PS-b-PDMS Copolymers in Bulk and in Selective Solvents

MARIO D. NINAGO; ANDRÉS E. CIOLINO; MARCELO A. VILLAR; FERNANDO C. GIACOMELLI; PETR CERNOCH; PETR STEPANEK; VANESSA SCHMIDT; CRISTIANO GIACOMELLI

Chemical Engineering Transactions

Associacione Italiana de Ingegneria Chimica

Lugar: Milán, Italia; Año: 2009 vol. 17 p. 1807 - 1812

1974-9791

In this work we report the synthesis of poly(styrene)-block-poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PS-b-PDMS) copolymers through sequential anionic polymerization, and their self-assembly behavior in bulk (thin films) and in solution (nanoparticles) as a function of the macromolecular characteristics (molar weight and relative volume fraction of the monomers). In bulk, well-defined island-type structures with periodic separation and uniform height were obtained in films prepared by spin casting onto silicon wafers, as evidenced by atomic force microscopy (AFM). In solution, micellar core-shell nanoparticles were observed in different media, and the corresponding structure was determined in details by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS).