Issue 21, 2024

Orientation and stretching of supracolloidal chains of diblock copolymer micelles by spin-coating process

Abstract

Supracolloidal chains consisting of nano- or micro-scale particles exhibit anisotropic properties not observed in individual particles. The orientation of the chains is necessary to manifest such characteristics on a macroscopic scale. In this study, we demonstrate the orientation of supracolloidal chains composed of nano-scale micelles of a diblock copolymer through spin-coating. We observed separate chains coated on a substrate with electron microscopy, and analyzed the orientation and stretching of the chains quantitatively with image analysis software. In drop-casting, the chains were coated randomly with no preferred orientation, and the degree of stretching exhibited an intrinsic semi-flexible nature. In contrast, spin-coated chains were aligned in the radial direction, and the apparent persistence length of the chain increased, confirming the stretching of the chain quantitatively. Furthermore, by incorporating fluorophores into supracolloidal chains and confirming the oriented chains with confocal fluorescence microscopy, it is demonstrated that oriented chains can be utilized as a template to align functional materials.

Graphical abstract: Orientation and stretching of supracolloidal chains of diblock copolymer micelles by spin-coating process

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 Feb 2024
Accepted
08 May 2024
First published
13 May 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale, 2024,16, 10377-10387

Orientation and stretching of supracolloidal chains of diblock copolymer micelles by spin-coating process

J. Kim, K. Lee, S. Kim and B. Sohn, Nanoscale, 2024, 16, 10377 DOI: 10.1039/D4NR00663A

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