Abstract
Block copolymers are known to spontaneously form ordered structures at the nano-to mesoscale. Although the number of different morphologies is rather limited in diblock copolymer systems, their phase behavior becomes increasingly more complex with each additional building block. Synthesis of such all-covalent materials is, however, a very challenging task. By moving to supramolecular chemistry these preparation methods can be avoided while maintaining the same kind of macromolecular complexity. After a brief introduction, this feature article will provide a selection of the most recent work performed in the field of self-assembling supramolecular block copolymer-containing materials. By careful choice of both the copolymer and, in many cases, the small organic surface active compound, fascinating morphologies can appear in supramolecular comb-shaped block copolymers. Several examples will be discussed, while a number of functional materials (e.g. thermal, optical, electronic) originating from these type of complexes will be addressed as well.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 343-356 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Polymer |
Volume | 107 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 10-Aug-2016 |
Keywords
- Block copolymers
- Supramolecular complexes
- Structure formation
- ABC TRIBLOCK COPOLYMERS
- POLYMER-SURFACTANT SYSTEMS
- ORDER-DISORDER TRANSITION
- NANOCOMPOSITE THIN-FILMS
- HYDROGEN-BONDED POLYMER
- PHASE-BEHAVIOR
- DIBLOCK COPOLYMERS
- STRONG-SEGREGATION
- MOLECULAR-WEIGHT
- TILING PATTERNS