Self-assembly of nanoparticle/copolymer mixtures

POSTER

Abstract

Mixtures of polystyrene-\textit{block}-poly (2-vinylpyridine) with tri-$n$-octylphosphine oxide-(TOPO)-covered CdSe nanoparticles were chosen to test the theoretical prediction of synergistic effects between two self-organization systems. Preliminary results confirmed that hierarchical structures were provided, with poly (2-vinylpyridine) cylindrical microdomains oriented normal to the surface and CdSe-TOPO nanoparticles self-assembly at the surface, that balanced the surface tensions of the P2VP with that of PS. Detailed structure evolution was revealed by \textit{in-situ} grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering (GISAXS) during thermal annealing. Results from these studies indicated that the orientation of the mcrodomains began at the free surface and propagated in the film towards the substrate. This one-step self-orienting, self-assembly process, without the use of external fields, opens a simple route for fabrication of nanostructured materials having hierarchical order, with applications including chemical sensing, separation, catalysis, high-density data storage and photonic materials..

Authors

  • Jinbo He

  • Ravisubhash Tangirala

  • Kevin Sill

  • Todd Emrick

    University of Massachusetts, Amherst, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA

  • Thomas Russell

    University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Polymer Science and Engineering department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, University of Massachusetts - Amherst, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts- Amherst, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Department of Polymer Science \& Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, University of Massachusetts, Dept. of Polymer Science and Engineering, UMASS, Polymer Science \& Engr. Dept. UMass

  • Xuefa Li

  • Jin Wang

    Argonne National Lab, ANL, Experimental Facilities Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439

  • Yao Lin

    Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439

  • Alexander Boker

    Lehrstuhl fur Physikalische Chemie II, Universitat Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany

  • Anna C. Balazs

    Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261, Chemical Engineering Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA