Abstract
To provide a faster calculation of the block copolymer phase diagrams a simplified version of the self-consistent field theory (SCFT) is proposed. Multi-component block copolymers with interactions between repeated units described by the -parameters satisfying the Hildebrand conditions are studied. This case is shown to correspond to a degeneration within the framework of the general SCFT approach. Remarkably, the degenerated thus multi-component block copolymers admit two-component only SCFT description. The procedure presented is applied to gradient copolymers considered as a limiting case of multi-component copolymers obeying Hildebrand conditions, the lengths of the blocks vanishing and the number of different kinds of repeated monomers tending to infinity. Finally, a melt of symmetric triblock copolymers blurred into a gradient copolymer is studied and corresponding phase diagrams are calculated.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 466-474 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Macromolecular Theory and Simulations |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sep-2016 |
Keywords
- computer modeling
- gradient copolymers
- Hildebrand approximation
- self-consistent field theory
- self-organization
- ABC TRIBLOCK COPOLYMERS
- BLOCK-COPOLYMERS
- PHASE-BEHAVIOR
- NONCONVENTIONAL MORPHOLOGIES
- INTERFACIAL PROPERTIES
- MELTS
- SEGREGATION
- WEAK
- NANOSTRUCTURES
- ALGORITHM