Dynamic Order-Order Transitions and Kinetic Surface Trapping of Unique Morphologies for Sub-10 nm Nanostructured Ultrathin Films of Sugar-Polyolefin Conjugates

Living coordinative chain transfer polymerization (LCCTP) is a new polymerization process that can provide access to a large variety of end-group functionalized polyolefins (x-PAOs) of very narrow polydispersity and tunable degree of polymerization from readily available and inexpensive α-olefin monomers. These x- PAOs now establish a new category of hydrophobic building block for the development of amphiphilic materials that self-assemble in both solution and the solid-state to produce an assortment of highly-ordered nanostructured morphologies. This talk will present the results of our most recent investigations regarding the synthesis and characterization of low molecular weight sugar-polyolefin conjugates that engage in unique dynamic temperature-driven order-order phase transitions involving several different sub-10 nm nanostructured morphologies within the bulk solid state and ultrathin films. Using a variety of techniques, including atomic force microscopy (AFM) and grazing incident small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS), we have been able to establish formation of a long-lived bicontinuous gyroid morphology of a sugar-polyolefin conjugate within a sub-100 nm thick film through apparent kinetic surface trapping.