24 search hits
-
"Smart" Hydrogels based on Trishydrophilic Triblock Terpolymers
(2010)
-
Stefan Reinicke
- The work presented in this thesis focuses on the synthesis of double stimuli-responsive, trishydrophilic triblock terpolymers and their utilization for the construction of “smart” hydrogel systems, responding to a variety of external stimuli. The central focus was put on ABC triblock terpolymers composed of a pH-sensitive A block, a water soluble B block and a thermo-sensitive or multi-responsive C block. This concept was used for the construction of hydrogels responding independently to pH, temperature, and UV light. It was further applied to the formation of polymer/nanoparticle hybrid micelles suitable for the formation of magneto-responsive hydrogels (ferrogels). At first, a new route for the synthesis of block copolymers, containing ethylene oxide and glycidol derivatives, was developed. The crucial aspect of this procedure, based on sequential anionic polymerization, was the utilization of the phosphazene base t-BuP4, enabling the anionic polymerization of epoxide monomers in the presence of lithium counterions. It was shown, that ethoxyethyl glycidyl ether polymerizes easily under the established polymerization conditions without unwanted termination. Hence, we were able to synthesize well-defined block copolymers containing vinyl and epoxide monomers in a one-pot reaction, without performing additional intermediate steps. This new synthetic route was then utilized to synthesize a series of poly(2-vinylpyridine)-block-poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(glycidyl methyl ether-co-ethyl glycidyl ether) (P2VP-b-PEO-b-P(GME-co-EGE)) triblock terpolymers suitable for pH and temperature dependent hydrogel formation. The reversible gelation for this particular system relies on two distinct mechanisms. Under conditions, where only one outer block is insoluble, core-shell-corona (CSC) micelles are formed, resulting in gelation via close cubic packing of the micelles. On the other hand, the micelles are also able to crosslink through their corona when both outer blocks are insoluble. As a direct consequence, a temperature triggered gel-sol-gel transition occurred at pH = 7, accompanied by a unique gel strengthening. Solubility and gelation studies were performed by DLS, rheology and SANS. The influence of polymer concentrations and block lengths on the gelation behavior and gel properties was studied. In order to derive information about the exact structure of the cubic lattice formed in the low temperature gel phase (simple cubic or body centered cubic), a 19 wt% aqueous solution of a particular P2VP-b-PEO-b-P(GME-co-EGE) triblock terpolymer at pH = 7 was further investigated using SANS under steady shear. By application of shear stress, the irregularly arranged polydomains of the sample oriented macroscopically along a preferred direction, which led to highly defined, strongly anisotropic 2D scattering patterns. The interpretation of these patterns confirmed the presence of a body centered cubic packing. The gel-sol transition upon temperature increase can be explained by a shrinkage of the shell of the CSC micelles. To increase the versatility of the established hydrogel concept, we further synthesized ABC triblock terpolymers with different responsive polymers as C blocks. This required an alternative synthetic route, combining anionic polymerization and ATRP via “click” chemistry. After optimization of each synthetic step, exemplary poly(2-vinylpyridine)-block-poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (P2VP-b-PEO-b-POEGMA) and poly(2-vinylpyridine)-block-poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(dimethyl- aminoethyl methacrylate) (P2VP-b-PEO-b-PDMAEMA) triblock terpolymers were synthesized, respectively, and characterized regarding their solubility and gelation behavior. At pH > 5, P2VP-b-PEO-b-PDMAEMA forms CSC micelles with a P2VP core, and a pH- as well as thermo-sensitive PDMAEMA corona. This particular structure represents a hydrogel, whose temperature dependent response can be easily changed from a gel-sol to a sol-gel transition by increasing the pH from 8 to 9. At pH = 7.5 on the other hand, gel formation is induced by the addition of hexacyanocobaltate(III) ions due to electrostatic interactions between the multivalent cobaltate ions and the charged DMAEMA units, causing a physical crosslinking of the CSC micelles. The gel can subsequently be disintegrated by an exposure to UV-light, based on a UV-catalyzed aquation of the trivalent hexacyanocobaltate(III) ions ions to divalent aquapentacyanocobaltate(III)-ions. In the last part, a new approach was developed to create a novel type of magnetic field-responsive hydrogels (ferrogels), in which the nanoparticles are tightly bound to the polymer matrix. The P2VP block of the previously synthesized P2VP-b-PEO-b-P(GME-co-EGE) triblock terpolymers was quaternized to a low extent and complexed with negatively charged, citrate stabilized maghemite (γ-Fe(III)-oxide) nanoparticles. Using different analytical methods it was shown that well-defined CSC hybrid micelles were obtained with cores formed by a complex of P2VP and 3-4 nanoparticles per core. Concentrated solutions of these micelles are able to form gels depending on temperature, as revealed by rheology measurements. Due to the presence of the maghemite particles, it is possible to induce gelation via remote heating using AC magnetic fields, which was demonstrated by high frequency magnetocalorimetry.
-
Ausrichtung von Blockcopolymerfilmen im Elektrischen Feld: Eine In-Situ Rasterkraftmikroskopische Untersuchung
(2007)
-
Violetta Olszowka
- Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde die Reorientierung sowohl von dünnen als auch dicken Diblockcopolymerfilmen mit lamellarer Mikrodomänenstruktur im realen Raum untersucht. Die Experimente erfolgten unter Tempern im Lösungsmitteldampf im planaren elektrischen Feld. Es wurden zwei Wege gezeigt, wie lamellare Mikrodomänen aufgestellt und durch ein elektrisches Feld in drei Dimensionen ausgerichtet werden können. In beiden Fällen wurden periodische und hochgeordnete Streifenstrukturen erhalten. Sowohl der Reorientierungsmechanismus der Mikrodomänen als auch der Einfluss des elektrischen Feldes auf die Defektbeweglichkeiten im dünnen Film, wurden mit einem modifizierten AFM, dem so genannten quasi in-situ AFM untersucht. Der Mechanismus der Reorientierung im dicken Film wurde durch eine kombinierte Studie aus AFM, GISAXS, REM und in-situ Ellipsometrie ermittelt. Weiterhin wurden der Verlauf der elektrischen Feldlinien und die Feldstärke für die verwendete Elektrodengeometrie auf der Basis der Finiten-Elemente-Methode simuliert. Ferner wurde der Einfluss des elektrischen Feldes auf den Grad der Ausrichtung für die Polymere SHM und SV untersucht. Hierfür wurden kombinatorische Experimente mit Elektroden in Gradientengeometrie durchgeführt.
-
Crystalline Morphologies of Poly(butadiene)-b-Poly(ethylene oxide) Block Copolymers in n-Heptane
(2009)
-
Adriana Mirela Mihut
- This thesis reports the development of micellar crystalline morphologies in a selective solvent. The phase diagram of solution morphologies as a function of the molecular composition of the semicrystalline poly(butadiene)-b-poly(ethylene oxide)(PB-b-PEO) block copolymers was investigated. The crystalline morphologies discussed here have been generated from selective solvent condition (70°C in n-heptane) via two thermal pathways: (A) by direct immersion into liquid nitrogen, where n-heptane becomes a poor solvent for both blocks at very low temperatures, and (B): by quenching to the crystallization temperature of the PEO, i.e., determined by the length of PEO block. In pathway B, n-heptane is a poor solvent only for the PEO block. At 70°C, the block copolymers self-assembled into micellar structures consisting of a PEO molten core and a soluble PB corona. As crystallization takes place in the PEO core, a fast quenching into liquid nitrogen results in the formation of crystalline micelles retaining the shape present in the molten state at 70°C (pathway A). In the case of pathway B, the competition between the PEO core crystallization and the self-assembly of the micellar units, is the driving force that dictates the morphological development, therefore crystallization breaks out the melt morphology. These studies, demonstrated that the PB-b-PEO block copolymers are a promising system models for developing a general route towards tunable crystalline morphologies. In a symmetric PB-b-PEO block copolymer, crystalline morphologies like spheres and meanders formed upon quenching into liquid nitrogen and at 30°C, respectively. The meander morphology consisting of branched lamellae with a crystalline PEO ribbon-like core and ellipsoidal endings was observed for the first time in solution. Investigations of the crystal development revealed that this structure formed via crystallization-induced aggregation of spherical micelles upon cooling. A systematic study of the effect of crystallization kinetics on the formed morphology upon crystallization-induced aggregation of spherical micelles of a symmetric PB-b-PEO block copolymer was discussed. We demonstrated that the resulting morphology is controlled by two competitive effects, namely, by the nucleation and growth of the PEO micellar core: at lower crystallization temperatures (Tc ≤ 30°C), a high nucleation rate leads to a meander-like morphology formation, whereas at higher crystallization temperatures (Tc > 30°C), a low nucleation rate favors the formation of twisted lamellae. For a highly asymmetric PB-b-PEO block copolymer, crystallization at -30°C induced the formation of crystalline micelles retaining the spherical shape present in the molten state at 70°C. However, a quenching into liquid nitrogen facilitated a transition to rod-like micelles caused by changes of solvent quality for the PB coronar chains. This triggers the onset of an interfacial instability, therefore the spherical micelles preferred to reorganize into a morphology with a smaller interfacial curvature. The low crystallinity of the PEO core imposed a stronger tendency of the rods to aggregate and to thicken into more stable morphologies as needle-like structures, with a preferred growth direction along the long axis. Finally, the micellar morphology diagram of the PB-b-PEO block copolymers has been studied as a function of the crystallization temperature and molecular composition of the blocks via two thermal pathways. Pathway A allowed morphological transitions from spheres to rods, worms or twisted cylinders with the increase of the crystalline content of the PEO core. In Pathway B, the sequence of spheres, cylinders, lamellae, platelets and dendrites structures is observed with the increases of the PEO block length. The aggregation number of the spherical micelles is affected by the weight fraction and crystallinity of the PEO block. Moreover, an increased chain folding was observed at a high PEO composition which reduced the lamellar thickness of the crystals. The competition between the PEO core crystallization and the aggregation of the micellar units leads to coexistence regions of lamellae with platelets and cylinders with platelets. The novelty of this thesis relies on the development of novel crystalline morphologies in a selective solvent, as well as, in the detailed analysis of the major parameters that govern morphological formation in a controlled manner.
-
Crystalline-core micelles based on triblock terpolymers with polyethylene middle blocks
(2012)
-
Joachim Schmelz
- This thesis is focused on the crystallization-induced structure formation of polyethylene containing triblock terpolymers in organic solvents to surface-compartmentalized worm-like crystalline-core micelles (wCCMs). Obtaining profound knowledge of the parameters controlling the self-assembly process allowed the production of a variety of complex one-dimensional micellar architectures with many potential applications, such as adaptive surfactants.
At first, the basic parameters that control the crystallization-induced self-assembly were explored using symmetric polystyrene-block-polyethylene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PE-b-PMMA) triblock terpolymers and a PS-b-PE-b-PS triblock copolymer. In good solvents for the PE block, e.g. THF and toluene, the selective formation of wCCMs was observed over a wide range of concentration, applied crystallization temperature and polymer composition. Whereas wCCMs produced by PS-b-PE-b-PS showed a homogeneous PS corona, a patch-like compartmentalization of the corona was observed if the micelles were formed by PS-b-PE-b-PMMA. As THF shows equal solvent quality for both corona blocks, wCCMs with almost alternating PS and PMMA compartments of about 15 nm were observed in this solvent. However, if structure formation was conducted in bad solvents for PE, such as dioxane or dimethylacetamide, spherical micelles with amorphous PE cores were formed already before crystallization. Hence, the subsequent crystallization of PE resulted in spherical CCMs with a patchy or a homogeneous corona depending on the used triblock. These findings allow the highly selective production of stable spherical or worm-like CCMs from the same polymer.
As the corona structure of the patchy micelles self-assembled from triblock terpolymers was mainly deduced from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) performed on dried samples, a small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) study was performed in order to elucidate the morphology in solution. Therefore a partly deuterated triblock terpolymer was synthesized and measured at different contrasts to allow the selective detection of the different corona compartments. The resulting SANS curves could be interpreted using a form factor model for core-shell cylinders with alternating PS and PMMA hemishells including interparticle interactions, thus validating the TEM observations. Notably, Janus-type and patchy cylinders can be clearly distinguished using the applied form factor model.
Moreover, the controlled formation of wCCMs with tunable corona composition and structure was achieved using the cocrystallization of different triblock copolymers. Via random cocrystallization of PS-b-PE-b-PMMA and PS-b-PE-b-PS the corona morphology could be tuned continuously from a mixed corona at low PMMA content over spherical PMMA patches of increasing number and size to alternating PS and PMMA patches. This approach allows to manufacture wCCMs with predefined corona structure omitting the need to synthesize a new tailor-made triblock terpolymer for every desired morphology.
By establishing the controlled crystallization-driven self-assembly of triblock terpolymers with PE middle blocks, it was further possible to prepare wCCMs with predefined average lengths up to 500 nm and length polydispersities as low as Lw/Ln = 1.1. Here, self-assembled spherical CCMs of PS-b-PE-b-PS were used as seeds for the controlled growth of PS-b-PE-b-PS unimers. Upon further addition of PS-b-PE-b-PMMA unimers these grew epitaxially onto the preexisting wCCMs, resulting in triblock co-micelles that consisted of middle blocks with a homogeneous PS corona and outer blocks with alternating PS/PMMA compartments. These structures represent not only the first block co-micelles including blocks with a patchy corona, but also the first ones produced from purely organic block copolymers.
In view of application, the ability of patchy wCCMs formed by PS-b-PE-b-PMMA to stabilize interfaces was investigated using pendant-drop tensiometry. The observed reduction of the interfacial tension at the toluene/water interface was significantly higher than that of comparable triblock terpolymer single chains and that of wCCMs with a homogeneous PS corona. Interestingly, the obtained equilibrium interfacial tension equaled that of Janus cylinders with similar dimensions. To explain this unexpected finding the corona chains were proposed to adapt to the interface via selective collapse and shielding of the incompatible part of the corona chains. Studying wCCMs formed by several triblock terpolymers with different compositions, the interfacial activity was found to increase with increasing overall length of the corona chains, and to a certain extent with the molar fraction of PS units in the corona.
-
Donor-Acceptor Block Copolymers for Charge Separation at Nanostructured Interfaces
(2006)
-
Stefan Lindner
- The motivation for this thesis was the synthesis and characterization of novel materials exhibiting nanostructured interfaces for electro-optical studies. Therefore a series of functionalized block copolymers, acceptor labeled polymers and low molecular weight model compounds were synthesized in which hole transport (donor), electron transport (acceptor) and light absorbing functionalities were incorporated. My approach was to use functionalized block copolymers. Block copolymers exhibit microphase separation with domain sizes on a nanometer scale by the interplay between immiscibility and molecular connectivity. I used a controlled radical polymerization technique, the nitroxide mediated radical polymerization (NMRP), to get block copolymers with one block consisting of an electron transport material and the other one of a hole transport material. Triphenylamine was used as hole conductor in combination with perylene bisimide as dye and electron conductor. First, a soluble perylene bisimide monomer had to be synthesized. This was achieved by an unsymmetrical synthesis starting from the perylene-3,4:9,10-tetracarboxylic bisanhydride. For the solubility a swallow-tail substituent was introduced and the other imide group was functionalized with an acrylate to get the monomer. Starting the polymerization with 4-vinyltriphenylamine, different PvTPA 23 macroinitiators were synthesized. A series of block copolymers 24C-24F were prepared using the same PvTPA macroinitiator 23C, thus only varying the perylene bisimide block. Furthermore, a series of block copolymers 24A-24C were synthesized using different PvTPA macroinitiators 23A-23C. Thus block copolymers with different molecular weights, but similar ratios of the blocks could be prepared. The controlled nature of NMRP allowed the architecture of these block copolymers with low polydispersities and controlled molecular weight. The block copolymers exhibited microphase separation, revealing elongated nanowire like structures for those with high perylene bisimide content. Most of these block copolymers exhibit a constant width of 13 nm for the nanowire like structure of the perylene bisimides. This was the first examples of microphase separation of block copolymers carrying electron transport and hole transport blocks. The electrochemical properties of the block copolymers were studied using cyclic voltammetry. The LUMO of the perylene bisimide block is -3.65 eV and the HOMO of the triphenylamine block is -5.23 eV. Therefore the maximum built-in potential and theoretically achievable photovoltage Voc is 1.58V. The efficiency of the block copolymer solar cells is one order of magnitude higher than that of the comparable blend device. It could also be shown that the block copolymer in the solar cell is microphase separated, revealing domain sizes from 10 to 50 nm, whereas the blend on the other hand is macrophase separated. This is the first report of charge separation at a nanostructured bulk interface in a block copolymer consisting of an electron transport and a hole transport material exhibiting microphase separation. These results are thus proof-of-principle for the nanostructured bulk heterojunction solar cells using block copolymers. Furthermore, fluorescent acceptor labeled polymers were synthesized using a series of monomers in order to obtain a single dye unit attached to various polymer chains. These polymers were prepared by nitroxide mediated radical polymerization with an alkoxyamine initiator that is covalently bound to a perylene bisimide moiety. It could be shown with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry that a single perylene bisimide unit is incorporated in each polymer chain. By using 4-vinyltriphenylamine monomers bifunctional polymers (8) containing electron donating moieties and a single electron acceptor unit were obtained. The polymerization of standard monomers such as styrene and acrylates, gave polymers (9-12) with only a single electron acceptor unit. Also novel electron acceptors consisting of perylene bisimide and fullerene moieties 15 and 17 were prepared and characterized. Although these dyads do not exhibit any ground state electronic coupling between the individual moieties, the emissive properties of the perylene bisimide units are strongly influenced by the covalently bound fullerene. The fluorescence of the perylene bisimide moiety is quenched by 99 % due to energy and electron transfer between the fullerene and the perylene bisimide. Beside the use as a model system these dyads are also capable of being used in organic solar cells. PCBM, the fullerene derivative which is usually used in polymer solar cells, is barely absorbing light and therefore perylene bisimide functionalized fullerenes may be an alternative as they strongly absorb light in the visible region.
-
Donor-Acceptor Block Copolymers in Organic Electronics - Spectroscopy, Charge Transport, Morphology and Device Application
(2010)
-
Sven Hüttner
- Organic electronic devices have attracted increasing attention over the last decade. The use of organic materials allows the creation of large area, flexible and low-cost lightemitting devices, transistors and photovoltaics. The development of new organic materials contributes to a successful commercialisation. The present work deals with the characterisation of novel donor-acceptor block copolymers and their constituent polymer blocks that are well-suited for organic photovoltaics. Block copolymers phase-separate and self-assemble into nanostructured morphologies due to the covalent linkage of the two blocks. The interplay between intermolecular interactions, mesoscopic crystalline structures and the block copolymer microphase separation determine the material properties and therefore the device characteristics. Thus, these block copolymers offer a unique platform to study the electronic and photophysical properties of confined donor-acceptor systems. This work is concerned with the fundamental characterisation of these properties as well as the application in organic field effect transistors and organic solar cells. The acceptor polymer block poly(perylene bisimide acrylate) (PPerAcr) consists of perylene bisimide (PBI) units that are linked to a polyacrylate backbone. We have investigated the homopolymer PPerAcr, a model block copolymer in conjunction with polystyrene (PS), as well as fully functionalised block copolymers with a donor block either made of poly(vinyl triphenylamine) (PvTPA) or poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). These polymers offer a set of electronically active materials with several hierarchical structures: The PBI moieties feature intermolecular pi-pi interactions that lead to crystalline side chains of PPerAcr that form a lattice of one-dimensional stacks of PBI. Further nanoscopic structures are induced by the combination of PPerAcr with another amorphous block or another semi-crystalline block such as P3HT due to phase separation. Since PPerAcr is used as an electron transporting material in all subsequent block copolymers, its structural, optical and electronic properties are investigated in detail. The intermolecular interactions of the PBI moieties favour not only charge transport, but also affect the optical properties, due to the electronic coupling of the transition dipole moments. Thus, optical spectroscopy such as absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy give access to information about the intermolecular packing, which is correlated with temperature dependent X-ray diffraction studies. The strong intermolecular packing of the PBI units can be overcome by solvent-vapour exposure. This is especially helpful to induce polymer chain mobility, enabling the completion of block copolymer phase separation for example. This method was studied in detail by means of in-situ spectroscopy and ellipsometry during controlled solvent-vapour exposure. Spincoated films of PvTPA-b-PPerAcr exhibit an incomplete phase separation and can be transformed into an ordered lamellar morphology by solvent-vapour annealing. In addition to PvTPA, we have characterised further poly(triarylamines) with different electron-rich substituents at the TPA units in OFETs. All these polymers are amorphous side-chain polymers. We found the charge carrier mobility to be independent of the molecular weight, though allowing an adjustment of their thermal properties for device fabrication. This is in contrast to P3HT, which is a semi-crystalline, conjugated main chain polymer. X-ray diffraction, steady state and time-resolved spectroscopy, as well as the transistor device characterisation were employed to establish a charge transport - morphology relation for the donor-acceptor block copolymers P3HT-b-PPerAcr containing two crystalline blocks. Controlling the crystallisation preferences of the two blocks leads to a new processing route for OFETs with tunable p-type, ambipolar, or n-type transport through a one-time thermal annealing step. The application of P3HT-b-PPerAcr in organic photovoltaic devices showed also very promising results with high external quantum efficiencies. Subsequently, the photophysics of P3HT-b-PPerAcr by means of absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy as well as time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy were investigated. All block copolymers exhibited an ultra-fast charge-pair formation and a strongly reduced photoluminescence, suggesting domain sizes of only some nanometres. Although efficient charge separation could be accomplished, a good charge percolation was lacking due to small domain sizes. Furthermore the herein presented results emphasis the fundamental importance of morphology and interfacial properties such as crystallinity. These findings motivate the further use of block copolymers as compatibilising agents for polymer blends to improve their interface and morphology.
-
Holographische Datenspeicherung in nanostrukturierten azobenzolhaltigen Polymeren
(2006)
-
Michael Häckel
- In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden verschiedene Diblock-Copolymere mit azobenzolhaltigen Seitenketten auf ihr Potential für Anwendungen als wiederbeschreibbares Medium für die holographische Datenspeicherung untersucht. Die Seitenketten dieser Polymere können durch Bestrahlung mit Licht angeregt und umorientiert werden. Infolge der Anisotropie der Seitenketten führt die Umorientierung in den beleuchteten Bereichen des Materials zu Doppelbrechung und damit zu einer räumlichen Brechungsindexmodulation für polarisiertes Licht. Bei Blockcopolymeren tritt Mikrophasenseparation auf. Diese ermöglicht im räumlichen Mittel eine Verdünnung der Azobenzolfarbstoffe bei gleichbleibend hoher lokaler Konzentration in den eingeschlossenen Minoritätsphasen. Die makroskopische Verdünnung ist zur Reduzierung des Absorptionskoeffizienten notwendig, damit das zum Schreiben verwendete Licht Proben mit einer Dicke im Bereich von 1 mm durchdringen kann. Eine hohe lokale Konzentration ist andererseits für die Stabilisierung der eingeschriebenen Information notwendig. Es ist bekannt, dass in azobenzolhaltigen Homopolymeren und statistischen Copolymeren eine stabile Orientierung bei gleichzeitiger schneller lichtinduzierter Umlagerung durch flüssigkristalline Phasen erreicht werden kann. Um festzustellen, ob die kooperative Umorientierung der Seitenketten und ihre gegenseitige Stabilisierung auch in den Minoritätsphasen von Blockcopolymeren auftreten, wurden solche Blockcopolymere untersucht, die in den Seitenketten des photoadressierbaren Blocks methoxysubstituierte Azobenzolgruppen und nichtabsorbierende Dreikernmesogene in unterschiedlichem Verhältnis enthielten. Mit zunehmendem Anteil der mesogenen Seitenketten stieg trotz des gleichzeitig abnehmenden Anteils der Farbstoffgruppen die erreichbare Brechungsindexmodulation eingeschriebener holographischer Gitter an. Damit konnte gezeigt werden, dass sich auch in Blockcopolymeren die mesogenen Seitenketten gemeinsam mit den Farbstoffgruppen umorientieren lassen. Mit steigendem Mesogenanteil stieg die Stabilität der eingeschriebenen Gitter ebenfalls an. Ab einem Anteil von 35 mol-% mesogenen Seitenketten im photoadressierbaren Block war diese so hoch, dass innerhalb eines Zeitraumes von zwei Jahren keine Relaxation der eingeschriebenen Orientierung beobachtet wurde. Nachdem an Gittern, deren Dicke wesentlich größer als die Gitterperiode ist, nur dann Beugung auftritt, wenn die Bragg-Bedingung erfüllt ist, können mehrere Hologramme an der selben Stelle des Mediums eingeschrieben und unabhängig voneinander wieder gelesen werden. Dadurch erhält man zu den üblichen zwei Dimensionen eines flächigen optischen Datenspeichers den Winkel als dritten Freiheitsgrad. An 1,1 mm dicken Spritzgussproben von Mischungen aus einem Blockcopolymer und Polystyrol wurden Experimente zum Winkelmultiplexing einfacher holographischer Gitter durchgeführt. Es gelang, sowohl überlagerte Intensitätsgitter als auch überlagerte Polarisationsgitter einzuschreiben. In azobenzolhaltigen Polymeren wächst die Brechungsindexmodulation holographischer Gitter extrem nichtlinear mit der Belichtungszeit an. Dennoch konnten in der Praxis Intensitätsgitter mit gleicher Belichtungszeit eingeschrieben werden, die am Ende der Einschreibvorgänge nahezu identische Beugungseffizienzen aufwiesen. Bis zu 200 holographische Intensitätsgitter konnten an der selben Stelle des Materials erzeugt werden. In Mischungen von Polystyrol mit Blockcopolymeren, die nichtabsorbierende mesogene Seitenketten oder mesogene Farbstoffgruppen enthielten, wurde sowohl bei einzelnen Hologrammen als auch im Fall mehrerer überlagerter Gitter eine sehr gute Stabilität beobachtet. Als nächsten Schritt hin zur Speicherung realer Daten wurden ausgedehnte Hologramme von zweidimensionalen Testbildern gespeichert. Mehrere dieser Hologramme konnten ebenfalls erfolgreich an der selben Stelle unter unterschiedlichen Winkeln geschrieben und rekonstruiert werden. Die Umorientierung von Azobenzolseitenketten ist reversibel. Die Materialien sind daher wiederbeschreibbar. Es konnte ein geeignetes Verfahren entwickelt werden, das es ermöglicht, Hologramme auf rein optischem Wege nahezu vollständig zu löschen und das Medium mehrere tausend Male wiederzubeschreiben. Zum Löschen wurde jeweils ein zweites holographisches Gitter verwendet, das zu dem ursprünglich eingeschriebenen um 180° phasenverschoben war. Dadurch wurde die Information bereits nahezu vollständig gelöscht. Anschließend wurde mit einem einzelnen Laserstrahl, dessen Polarisation um 90° gedreht war, nachbelichtet, um die Farbstoffgruppen wieder in die Polarisationsrichtung der Schreibstrahlen zu orientieren. Durch diese beiden Schritte konnte die Beugungseffizienz der Hologramme um mehr als zwei Größenordnungen abgeschwächt werden und es wurde nach mehr als 1000 Schreib-Lösch-Zyklen wurde weder eine Abnahme der Beugungseffizienz eingeschriebener Gitter noch eine Verschlechterung des Löschverhaltens beobachtet.
-
Instabilities in layered liquids induced by external fields
(2003)
-
Günter Auernhammer
- In this thesis, we have shown that the inclusion of a nematic degree of freedom in the macroscopic hydrodynamic description of smectic-A-like liquids leads to a number of interesting results. While the director and the layer normal are coupled such that they are parallel in equilibrium, in non-equilibrium situations, the director needs not be parallel to the smectic layer normal. This is in contrast to standard smectic-A hydrodynamics. Using irreversible thermodynamics and symmetry arguments, we derived a complete set of macroscopic hydrodynamic equations for the director variables, the layer displacement, the velocity field, and the moduli of the nematic and smectic order parameters. Recent experiments find that the parallel orientation of smectic-A- like liquids is destabilized by an applied shear. After destabilization, two typical scenarios are observed in a steady state situation: i) The layers are oriented perpendicular to the vorticity direction of the flow, i.e., they lie in the plane spanned by the velocity and the gradient direction (`perpendicular' orientation). ii) Closed multi-lamellar vesicles (`onions') form. A number of experiments indicate that the onset of this reorientation is controlled by the applied shear rate. In contrast to standard smectic-A hydrodynamics where shear in the parallel orientation has no effect on the layers, this destabilizing effect comes out naturally from our extended smectic-A hydrodynamics. The argumentation goes along the following lines. The shear field exerts a torque on the director that must be balanced by the coupling to the layer normal. In the limit of small angles, balancing these torques leads, in the steady state, to a shear-induced director tilt proportional to the shear rate. The preferred thickness of a smectic layer is directly connected to the projection of the averaged molecular axes on the layer normal, or, in terms of our model, the thickness is proportional to the projection of the director on the layer normal. If the director is tilted, this projection is shorter. This decrease of the projection is equivalent to an effective dilation, because the actual layer thickness is larger than the preferred layer thickness. Similar to the case of low molecular weight smectic-A liquid crystals under a dilative strain, this effective dilation leads to an undulation instability. To investigate the stability of the parallel alignment, we performed a linear and weakly non-linear analysis of the governing equations. The initial state is the above described spatially homogeneous director tilt with the smectic layers in the parallel orientation. The linear stability analysis showed an undulation instability which sets in above a critical tilt angle (or equivalently, a critical shear rate). This critical tilt angle turned out to depend strongly on the material parameters. For a typical low molecular weight thermotropic liquid crystal, we estimated the critical tilt angle to be on the order of a few degrees. The linear stability analysis also revealed that the nematic and smectic order is modulated close to the boundaries. Since the probability for the formation of defects is larger in regions with a decreased modulus of the order parameter, these variations in the modulus of the order parameter open the way for a destabilization of the layered structure. We note that a detailed investigation of this point is beyond the scope of the present work. Finally, we could exclude an oscillatory instability for all physically reasonable regions in parameter space. The weakly non-linear analysis shows that the bifurcation is supercritical for most physically relevant regions in the parameter space. A detailed comparison to an independent approach was undertaken in a collaboration with simulation physicists from the Max-Planck- Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz. In a molecular dynamics simulation, a model layered liquid consisting of chains of four particles (AABB) was considered. The interaction potential of particles not connected by springs is attractive for like particles and repulsive for particles of a different nature. The simulation demonstrated the two main predictions of our analytic theory: The director tilts in the flow direction and, above a critical shear rate, the layers show stationary undulations with a wave vector in the vorticity direction. Besides this good qualitative agreement, a reasonable quantitative agreement for the critical shear rate was found.
-
Mesoscale Modeling of Phase Behavior in Thin Films of Cylinder-Forming ABA Block Copolymers
(2008)
-
Andriana Horvat
- In this thesis modeling results on structure formation in thin films of cylinder-forming block copolymers are presented and discussed. The computational study of the equilibrium phase behavior in thin films is complemented by detailed comparison with a real experimental system. Additionally, the dynamics in such films at various length and time scales (the dynamics of individual defects and the dynamics of surface relief structures) is studied. The strength of the presented thesis is the comparison of thin block copolymer film equilibrium and dynamic behavior in experiments and in computer simulations. This comparison supplies an in-depth understanding of the processes in thin films and near the surfaces in thick films and allows to identify the important control parameters of nanopattern formation. Chapters 4 and 5 report on the phase behavior of thin films of asymmetric block copolymers. In addition to the surface induced alignment of hexagonally ordered cylinders, an adjustment to the planar symmetry of the surface by formation of surface reconstructions is found to dominate the phase behavior in thin films. The large parameter space covered by the simulations allows to distinguish the effects of the two constraints characteristic for thin films: the surface field and the film thickness. The deviations from the bulk cylinder structure, both in the vicinity of surfaces and in thin films are identified as surface reconstructions. The stability regions of different phases are modulated by the film thickness via interference and confinement effects. The results give evidence of a general mechanism that govern the phase behavior in thin films of modulated phases: The interplay between the strength of the surface field and the deformability of the bulk structure determines how the system rearranges in the vicinity of the surface. Chapters 6 and 7 present a systematic study of defects in thin films of cylinder-forming block copolymers. In particular, the peculiarities of both classical and specific topological are considered in detail, and a strong relationship between the defect structures and the chain mobility in block copolymers is observed. In the systems studied, representative defect configurations provide connectivity of the minority phase in the form of dislocations with a closed cylinder end or classical disclinations with incorporated alternative, nonbulk structures with planar symmetry. In solvent-annealed films with enhanced chain mobility, the neck defects (bridges between parallel cylinders) were observed. This type of nonsingular defect has not been identified in block copolymer systems before. It is shown, that topological arguments and 2D defect representation, sufficient for lamellar systems, are not sufficient to determine the stability and mobility of defects in the cylindrical phase. In-situ scanning force microscopy measurements are compared with the simulations based on DDFT. The close match between experimental measurements and simulation results suggests that the lateral defect motion is diffusion-driven. Finally, the morphological evolution is considered with the focus on the motion and interaction of the representative defect configurations. Chapter 7 reveals dynamic simulations and in-situ SFM measurements of defect annihilation. Along with the lateral movement of defects, the annihilation frequently proceeds through local structural transitions. The role of the observed structural evolution is discussed in the context of the equilibrium phase behavior of cylinder-forming thin films, studied in chapters 4-5. Chapter 8 presents a study of terrace formation in thin films of a cylinder-forming block copolymers by a computational DDFT method. The results are compared with in situ SFM measurements of SBS block copolymer thin films. This chapter focuses on the early stage of terrace formation, where 80% of height changes occur. Experimental and simulation results agree that the change of the local height is strongly connected to the changes in the local microstructure. The detailed pathways of the structural transitions, as revealed by simulations, suggest a diffusion of block copolymer chains along the microstructure interfaces and indicate an important role of cylinders with necks as a material-transport-channel between neighboring terraces in thin cylinder-forming films. Both systems (in experiment and in simulations) show excellent quantitative agreement in detail of structural phase transitions and in the dynamics of the step development, suggesting that the underlying transport mechanisms are governed by diffusion.
-
Nanostructure formation in thin polymer films
(2004)
-
Nicolaus Rehse
- In the first part of this thesis an improved process is presented to prepare laterally structured substrates via hierarchical self organization. A miscut silicon surface annealed at 1400 K under ultra high vacuum conditions is used. The resulting facets are stable against oxidation and form a topographic pattern which can be further modified to a chemical pattern via evaporation of gold on every other facet. By controlling the time of annealing, we create structures with a reproducible mean width ranging from 40 to 400 nm. Despite the rather complex ultra high vacuum treatment and an additional evaporation step, we are able to produce substrates in a relatively short time (36 h). These substrates show a nanometer sized structure over an area of 0.5 cm². The automation of the cleaning process and a controlled heating during the annealing increases the yield of high-quality, stepped substrates. These structures allowed us to study the behavior of ultra-thin polystyrene films on topographically structured substrates. The film thickness of some nanometers is comparable to the radius of gyration of the polymers. The substrate corrugation causes a regular variation of the film thickness. We start with a homogeneous film, which is annealed above the glass transition temperature. During annealing the films are stable or form long polymer nanochannels, which lie in the grooves of the substrate structure. The balance of the radius of gyration and the film thickness controls the stability of the polymer film, while the corrugation only triggers the dewetting. The same behavior is found for films on flat substrates. Here small contaminations nucleate the formation of holes. Evaporation of gold stripes and their modification with self assembled monolayers leads to chemical patterned substrates. This expands the possibilities to manipulate the substrate wettability on the nanometer scale. The second part of the thesis describes the formation of ordered structures in block copolymer films. ABC triblock copolymers show a large variety of morphologies in thin films. We have shown that surface reconstructions play an important role in the structure formation process of these structures. In very thin films, where the film thickness is smaller than the long period of the polymer's micro domains, confinement effects overlap with the surface effects. The component with the lowest surface energy is accumulated at the free surface. It needs a subtle balance between the different surface energies (external fields) and the interaction of the three polymer blocks (internal fields) to create a surface reconstruction. This was shown by variation of the chemistry of the end block and by changing the sequence of blocks in the experiment. To analyze the surface reconstruction we used selective staining along with scanning electron microscopy, selective etching in oxygen plasma in combination with scanning probe microscopy, as well as quantitative TappingMode atomic force microscopy. Surface reconstructions of block copolymers show remarkable similarities with reconstructions of single crystal surfaces. In both cases the driving force for a rearrangement is the decrease in surface free energy of the ideal surface. A second analogy between the lamella forming SBM triblock copolymer and Si(100) is the fact that two non-equivalent layers of matter aligned parallel to the free surface lead to two different terminations at the surface. This shows that the phenomenon of surface reconstructions is not limited to classic crystals. The results of this thesis give new insights in the behavior of polymers at surfaces and in thin films. This gives the opportunity to create or manipulate nanometer sized structures accurately via self assembly, external stimuli, or a combination of both.
