Experimental and simulated phase separation in a PS-b-PMMA/Au-PEO thin film

Comparison of experimental (left, SEM images) and simulation (right, DDFT/BD) phase separation dynamics in an ultra thin film (20-30 nm) comprising a 1000 kDa PS-PMMA block copolymer and gold nanoparticles coated with PEO (5kDa). The system starts from a homogeneous dispersion and evolves towards microphase separated BCP domains with hexagonal NP structures selectively locating in PMMA-rich areas.

This work is part of a published article: Hierarchical structuring in block copolymer nanocomposites through two phase separation processes operating on different time scales, E. Ploshnik, K. M. Langner, A. Halevi, M. Ben-Lulu, A. H. E. Müller, J. G. E. M. Fraaije, G. J. A. Sevink, R. Shenhar, Adv. Funct. Mater. 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201300091.

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