Self-Assembly and Morphology Control in Janus Bottlebrush Block Copolymers

Block copolymers have been used to achieve small-length scale nanostructures, but their ability to achieve smaller dimensions is limited by the degree of polymerization (N). In janus bottlebrush block copolymers (JBBs), the domain spacing is primarily governed by the brush degree of polymerization (N_brush) rather than the backbone degree of polymerization (N_bb). Unlike linear block copolymers, the rigid backbone of JBBs minimizes interchain entanglement between brush sidechains, thereby reducing the energy required for self-assembly into well-ordered morphology. This unique architecture enables the formation of patterns with smaller length scales.  A library of Janus bottlebrush copolymers with synthesized using a one-ppot cascade polymerization with systematically varied N_brush, N_bb. Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is used to measure JBB nanostructure and understand how annealing will affect the self-assembly of JBBs. We aim to establish the relationship between molecular architecture, processing conditions, and the resulting morphology to gain further insight into how the unique JBB architecture affects nanoscale structure.