Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Magdalena Konefal, Peter Cernoch, Vitalii Patsula, Ewa Pavlova, Jiri Dybal, Karol Zaleski, Alexander Zhigunov
Summary: The study demonstrated that Fe3O4@PAA nanoparticles can selectively segregate inside P4VP domains, enhancing the microphase separation process and resulting in highly ordered nanostructured thin films. The addition of these nanoparticles does not alter the average interdomain spacing in the film lateral nanostructure, and they can be easily removed to obtain well-ordered nanoporous templates.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Maninderjeet Singh, Wenjie Wu, Monali N. Basutkar, Joseph Strzalka, Abdullah M. Al-Enizi, Jack F. Douglas, Alamgir Karim
Summary: The study demonstrates a rapid self-assembly technique for achieving vertical orientation of block copolymer films on unmodified substrates, leading to faster formation of ordered structures.
Article
Polymer Science
Yu-Hsuan Lin, Chang-Cheng Shiu, Tien-Lin Chen, Hsin-Lung Chen, Jing-Cherng Tsai
Summary: Blending with homopolymer can tune the microdomain morphology of block copolymers, but under certain conditions, the addition of homopolymer may lead to anomalous phenomena such as excessive swelling of junction point separation and decreased interdomain distance.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Yu-Hsuan Tseng, Yi-Chun Fan, Chun-Ting Chang, Yu-Liang Lin, Chia-Wei Chang, Chih-Wei Liao, Jiun-Tai Chen
Summary: In this study, a facile strategy called photoinduced alignment under solvent vapor annealing (PA-SVA) is proposed to form well-aligned block copolymer thin films without the need for chemically or topographically prepatterned substrates. The light-assisted self-assembly of the block copolymers is achieved by incorporating light-responsive azobenzene molecules into the polymer chains. The alignment of the block copolymer chains is induced through supramolecular interactions between the azobenzene molecules and the polymer chains. This method not only allows for manipulation of the position of light-responsive molecules in block copolymer chains, but also provides an alternative way to obtain well-ordered block copolymer thin films.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Nico Alleva, Katharina Eigen, David Y. W. Ng, Tanja Weil
Summary: We propose a simple and versatile method to purify and isolate DNA-polymer conjugates from various types of uncharged homo, random, or block copolymer families. Anion exchange chromatography is utilized for separation and recovery of excess unreacted polymer and oligonucleotide. With a high yield and efficient purification process, this method demonstrates its broad applicability for different polymer families and DNA block lengths.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Haishan Xu, Han Zhang, Yifan Wang, Chen Tang, Tianyu Xiao, Zhi Xu, Hong Li, Fugui Xu, Yiyong Mai
Summary: This study presents a sulfur host for Li-S batteries, based on a sandwich structure with MXene nanosheets and conductive poly(m-phenylenediamine). The design effectively addresses the poor conductivity of sulfur and the 'shuttle effect' of polysulfides, resulting in high-performance Li-S batteries with stable cycling and high sulfur loading capacities.
Article
Polymer Science
Yujie Xie, Wei Yu, Tianlai Xia, Rachel K. O'Reilly, Andrew P. Dove
Summary: The stereocomplexation of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) enantiomers enhances the performance of materials. However, the study of stereocomplexation between PLA-based block copolymers in solution is limited, requiring a comprehensive understanding. This study synthesized triblock copolymers and observed the morphological transition driven by stereocomplexation, providing valuable guidance for optimizing this process for biomedical applications under physiological conditions.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Siqi Jiang, Feifei Xing, Jiacheng Zhang, Luoxing Xiang, Qian Li, Fugui Xu, Zhong-Shuai Wu, Yiyong Mai
Summary: In this study, a new type of lithium-ion capacitor (LIC) was developed to meet the demands of high energy and high power. By controlling porosity and morphology, two 2D electrode materials were constructed, significantly improving the capacity and rate performance of the LIC. The experimental results showed that this design achieved a high energy density of 208 Wh kg(-1) and a high power density of 176 W kg(-1).
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Maliheh Hasannia, Ali Aliabadi, Khalil Abnous, Seyed Mohammad Taghdisi, Mohammad Ramezani, Mona Alibolandi
Summary: Amphiphilic block copolymers are commonly used to fabricate various nanostructures for biomedical applications, offering advantages such as better stability and targeting capability. Modulating the hydrophobic/hydrophilic ratio in these copolymers can influence their structural characteristics, while selecting suitable polymerization strategies is crucial for ensuring polymersomes quality.
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Wei Chen, Peng Liu
Summary: The study focused on the synthesis of PEGylated dendritic polyurethane for ultrasound-triggered localized drug delivery. The nanomedicine showed excellent intracellular drug release performance in simulated tumor environment and enhanced tumor growth inhibition on HepG2 cells compared to free DOX.
Article
Polymer Science
Ki Hyun Kim, Mincheol Kim, Junsoo Moon, June Huh, Joona Bang
Summary: In this study, bottlebrush copolymers were designed as neutral additives to block copolymer (BCP) thin films, achieving vertically oriented microdomains through architectural effects. This concept could potentially be extended to various applications requiring polymer films with functional surfaces.
Article
Polymer Science
Oliver Dreyer, Gregor Ibbeken, Ludwig Schneider, Niklas Blagojevic, Maryam Radjabian, Volker Abetz, Marcus Mueller
Summary: In this study, the self-assembly of asymmetric diblock copolymers during solvent evaporation was investigated using particle-based Monte Carlo simulations and continuum modeling. The effects of evaporation rate and solvent selectivity on structure formation, particularly the alignment of minority block cylinders, were examined. Comparing the two simulation techniques helped identify general trends with parameter variation and understand the role of single-chain dynamics, fluctuations, and additional model details.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Dongyoon Woo, Minkyeong Ban, Jisung Lee, Cheol-Young Park, Jinuk Kim, Seongseop Kim, Jinwoo Lee
Summary: Anisotropic lens-shaped nitrogen-doped carbon material with unidirectionally aligned mesopores was successfully synthesized through perpendicular block copolymer self-assembly at the polymer interface. This novel material shows great potential as a potassium-ion battery anode material, making it a promising candidate for the next-generation battery systems.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Liyang Shen, Gabriela Diaz Gorbea, Evan Danielson, Shuquan Cui, Christopher J. Ellison, Frank S. Bates
Summary: The management of the plastic industry is a significant challenge due to the accumulating waste and high costs of recycling. An alternative strategy has been developed to improve the mechanical properties of blended plastics using block copolymers, which can be produced inexpensively through industrial-scale polymerization methods. This approach provides a practical solution for recycling plastics.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Rasha Ahmed Hanafy Bayomi, Takashi Aoki, Sono Sasaki, Shinichi Sakurai
Summary: This study reports the spontaneous dewetting of a sphere-forming block copolymer film and the formation of plateau-shaped islands with regularly ordered spherical microdomains. The degree of deformation of the hexagonal lattice in the dewetted islands increases with the degree of island shape deformation, leading to well-ordered arrangement of microdomains. However, the regular ordering is disrupted near the edges of the islands due to mismatch between the island's curvature and the ordered grain shape.
Article
Biophysics
Y. G. Smirnova, M. Mueller
Summary: Molecular simulations show that strong membrane curvature significantly increases the thermodynamic stability of the hourglass-shaped connection between vesicles, while the reduction of the barrier to stalk formation is due to the lower dehydration free energy required for highly curved vesicles compared to apposing, planar membranes.
EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL WITH BIOPHYSICS LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Yaron Aviv, Esra Altay, Ofer Burg, Marcus Mueller, Javid Rzayev, Roy Shenhar
Summary: The research demonstrates that the nature of the substrate has a significant impact on the self-assembled morphology and surface patterns of bottlebrush block copolymers with different side-chain lengths in films, despite the typical tendency of these polymers to form lamellar structures. By manipulating the substrate chemistry, unique morphologies can be induced in bottlebrush block copolymer films.
Article
Polymer Science
Alireza F. Behbahani, Ludwig Schneider, Anastassia Rissanou, Anthony Chazirakis, Petra Bacova, Pritam Kumar Jana, Wei Li, Manolis Doxastakis, Patrycja Polinska, Craig Burkhart, Marcus Mueller, Vagelis A. Harmandaris
Summary: A hierarchical simulation methodology is proposed for predicting the dynamical and rheological properties of entangled polymer melts, which includes atomistic, moderately coarse-grained (mCG), and highly coarse-grained slip-spring (SLSP) simulations. The methodology matches local structural distributions of the different levels and uses compensating pair potentials to keep static macromolecular properties unaltered.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Steven Gottlieb, Louis Pigard, Yu Kyoung Ryu, Matteo Lorenzoni, Laura Evangelio, Marta Fernandez-Regulez, Colin D. Rawlings, Martin Spieser, Francesc Perez-Murano, Marcus Mueller, Armin W. Knoll
Summary: The study presents a probe-based thermal-imaging technique that can achieve sub-10 nm lateral resolution and sub-10 ms pixel rate. Through investigating microphase-separated PS-b-PMMA block copolymers, the study reveals asymmetry in the heat flux signal and the heat flux ratio between both polymers in different geometries. Comparison with coarse-grained molecular simulations shows enhanced transport along the macromolecular backbone and Kapitza resistance at internal interfaces of the self-assembled structure.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Marcus Mueller
Summary: Using analytical considerations and particle-based simulations, this study investigates the relaxation of a density modulation in a polymer system without nonbonded interactions. The results demonstrate that shallow density modulations, prepared by different processes but with identical amplitudes and wavevectors, exhibit different nonexponential decay behaviors, challenging the assumption that density alone characterizes the polymer system configuration. Analytic descriptions within Linear-Response Theory (LRT) and the Rouse model are provided, showing quantitative agreement with the particle-based simulations.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Cody T. Bezik, Joshua A. Mysona, Ludwig Schneider, Abelardo Ramirez-Hernandez, Marcus Mueller, Juan J. de Pablo
Summary: A new mesophase in binary blends of A-b-(BA')3 miktoarm star block copolymers and A homopolymers has been discovered, consisting of aperiodic discrete domains of A embedded in a continuous matrix of B. Molecular bridging dominates the mechanical behavior of the mesophase, outweighing the influence of microphase segregation. The application of shear leads to a closer structure resembling its speculated discrete nature.
Article
Polymer Science
Gaoyuan Wang, Marcus Mueller
Summary: This study investigates the interplay between elasticity and microphase separation in quasi-two-dimensional phantom networks formed by AB diblock copolymers. Computer simulations and phenomenological considerations show that network elasticity has a minor role in the system when the stretching is weak. As the stretching increases, the incompatibility for the order-disorder transition decreases, and a multigrain state with tilted lamellae is observed at intermediate stretching.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
David Steffen, Ludwig Schneider, Marcus Mueller, Joerg Rottler
Summary: This paper investigates the spatiotemporal autocorrelation of shear stress in a supercooled fluid close to the glass transition using molecular dynamics simulations. The results show anisotropic correlations and strongly damped oscillations at non-zero wavevectors. The experimental findings are in good quantitative agreement with a recently developed hydrodynamic theory.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Gaoyuan Wang, Annette Zippelius, Marcus Mueller
Summary: Cross-linking is a versatile strategy to stabilize the structure and control the dynamics of polymers. This study systematically investigates the phase behavior of randomly cross-linked diblock copolymer melts and reveals the significant influence of the preparation state on the phase diagram.
Article
Polymer Science
Pritam Kumar Jana, Petra Bacova, Ludwig Schneider, Hideki Kobayashi, Kai-Uwe Hollborn, Patrycja Polinska, Craig Burkhart, Vagelis A. Harmandaris, Marcus Mueller
Summary: The theological properties of polymer composites depend on the interfacial interactions between solid fillers and a polymer fluid. This study presents a simulation strategy called the wall-spring thermostat, which uses transient bonds to mimic the interactions between the polymer and the solid surface. The density and lifetime of these transient bonds can be adjusted to control the single-chain and collective dynamics of the polymer at the surface. The simulation technique allows for the capture of dynamic heterogeneities at surfaces.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kai-Uwe Hollborn, Ludwig Schneider, Marcus Muller
Summary: Highly coarse-grained (hCG) linear polymer models, based on dissipative particle dynamics (DPD), allow for studying long time and length scales. This top-down strategy uses relevant interactions, such as molecular connectivity, and coarse-grained invariants, like the mean-squared end-to-end distance, to describe the equilibrium behavior of long, flexible macromolecules. However, describing the dynamics of long, entangled polymers is challenging because hCG models do not enforce the noncrossability of molecular backbones. One technique to mimic entanglements in hCG models is slip-springs, which has shown quantitative agreement with simulations, experiments, and theoretical predictions.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Oliver Dreyer, Gregor Ibbeken, Ludwig Schneider, Niklas Blagojevic, Maryam Radjabian, Volker Abetz, Marcus Mueller
Summary: In this study, the self-assembly of asymmetric diblock copolymers during solvent evaporation was investigated using particle-based Monte Carlo simulations and continuum modeling. The effects of evaporation rate and solvent selectivity on structure formation, particularly the alignment of minority block cylinders, were examined. Comparing the two simulation techniques helped identify general trends with parameter variation and understand the role of single-chain dynamics, fluctuations, and additional model details.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Felix Weissenfeld, Lucia Wesenberg, Masaki Nakahata, Marcus Mueller, Motomu Tanaka
Summary: The interactions between vesicle and substrate were investigated using simulation and experiment. Polyacrylic acid brushes with cysteine side chains were grafted onto planar lipid membranes. The addition of Cd2+ ions compacted the polymer brushes and influenced the adhesion of lipid vesicles. Wetting of the vesicles occurred at [CdCl2] = 0.25 mM. The shape and adhesion of vesicles were quantitatively evaluated, and simulations revealed that wetting sensitivity was dependent on the interaction range.
Article
Polymer Science
Niklas Blagojevic, Marcus Mueller
Summary: Using a particle-based model, a free-energy functional, and a lattice model, this study investigates the structure and motion of a grain boundary between two orthogonal grains in asymmetric block copolymers. The study reveals insights into transitions and correlations in space and time. By characterizing the system using a free-energy functional and calculating the minimum free-energy path, the study identifies a minimal set of transitions. The results are used to parametrize a lattice model and investigate grain-boundary motion by kinetic Monte Carlo simulation.
Proceedings Paper
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Xavier Chevalier, Cindy Gomez Correia, Gwenaelle Pound-Lana, Philippe Bezard, Matthieu Serege, Camille Petit-Etienne, Guillaume Gay, Gilles Cunge, Benjamin Cabannes-Boue, Celia Nicolet, Christophe Navarro, Ian Cayrefourcq, Marcus Mueller, Georges Hadziioannou, Ilias Iliopoulos, Guillaume Fleury, Marc Zelsmann
Summary: The study presents the results of self-assembly of lamellar silicon-containing high-chi block copolymers with innovative neutral top-coat design, showing compatibility with standard lithographic processes and potential for high volume manufacturing. The technology demonstrates stability and planarity of the stack even at elevated bake temperatures, opening new opportunities in the field of 3D BCPs stacks. Interesting results for the etch-transfer of a lamellar BCP in silicon are also shown.
ADVANCES IN PATTERNING MATERIALS AND PROCESSES XXXVIII
(2021)
