Yushu Matsushita: New Self-Assembly Manners of Block Polymers with Contrived Molecular Design

Block polymers are known to form self-assembled ordered structures with mesoscopic length scale depending on their architectures. This seminar represents the new bulk structures created by contrived molecular design. All the mother block polymers were prepared based on anionic polymerizations and hence they possess narrow molecular weight distribution. Polymer components used and abbreviated are S:polystyrene, I:polyisoprene, P:poly(2-vinylpyridine), T:poly(4-trimethylsilylstyrene), respectively. The seminar includes the following topics.

1) Creation of Double-Diamond(DD) network structures from ternary blends of SI diblock copolymers

2) Several new structures from binary blends of ISP triblock terpolymers i) tetragonally-packed rods, ii)tricontinuous DD structure, iii) periodic structures with extremely large unit cells

3) Several new tiling structures and a quasicyrstalline structure from blends of S1IS2P tetrablock terpolymers

4) Gyroid surface from an STIP tetrablock quaterpolymer

5) Unusual domain structures including a complex A-15 phase from SIn block-graft copolymers