Citation: Kai Liu, Chun-Ming Yang, Bo-Ming Yang, Lan Zhang, Wen-Chao Huang, Xiao-Ping Ouyang, Fu-Gang Qi, Nie Zhao, Feng-Gang Bian. Directed Self-assembly of Vertical PS-b-PMMA Nanodomains Grown on Multilayered Polyelectrolyte Films[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, ;2020, 38(1): 92-99. doi: 10.1007/s10118-019-2315-z shu

Directed Self-assembly of Vertical PS-b-PMMA Nanodomains Grown on Multilayered Polyelectrolyte Films

Kai Liu ^a,b,c,‡ ,
Chun-Ming Yang ^b,‡ ,
Bo-Ming Yang ^a ,
Lan Zhang ^a ,
Wen-Chao Huang ^a ,
Xiao-Ping Ouyang ^a ,
Fu-Gang Qi ^a ,
Nie Zhao ^a,, ,
Feng-Gang Bian ^b,c,,

a.
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan 411105, China
b.
Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, China
c.
Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, China

Corresponding author: Nie Zhao, zhaonie@xtu.edu.cn Feng-Gang Bian, bianfenggang@sinap.ac.cn
Received Date: 20 May 2019
Revised Date: 11 June 2019
Available Online: 19 September 2019

Layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte self-assembly, a common method for preparing high-quality ultra-thin films, was employed to direct the self-assembly behavior of polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) block copolymer for the first time. Differing from the previous neutral polymer brushes anchored to silicon substrates via chemical modification, polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) were anchored by electrostatic interaction and provided a stable, smooth, and neutral interface. In the present study, PS-b-PMMA was deposited on poly(acrylamide hydrochloride)/poly(acrylic acid) (PAH/PAA) PEMs prepared by layer-by-layer self-assembly to successfully yield vertical nanodomains after thermal annealing. Seven layered PEMs revealed an excellent, smooth surface, with a low roughness of 0.6 nm. The periodic structure with interlamellar spacing of 47 nm was determined by grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). The morphology of the PS-b-PMMA nanodomains depended on the polyanion-to-polycation concentration ratio, which is related to the interaction between the block copolymer and the substrate. Our results demonstrate that layer-by-layer self-assembly is a helpful method for the phase separation of block polymers and the fabrication of vertical, ordered nanodomains.
- Block copolymer,
- Polyelectrolyte,
- Self-assembly,
- GISAXS
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