Molecular Dynamics of Ionic Block Copolymers in Thin Films under Electric Fields

Understanding electromechanical responses of ionic block copolymers is a topic of great interest due to its fundamental and technological importance. We have investigated responses of thin films containing microphase separated ionic diblock copolymers to applied electric fields using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. In this talk, we will present results highlighting the effects of the counterion size, film thickness, and the electrostatic interaction strength on the responses of the diblock copolymers to applied electric fields. Comparisons of the results from the molecular dynamics simulations with the neutron reflectometry measurements done on imidazolium based ionic block copolymers will also be presented.