Lance Williamson, a PhD student in the Nealey group, and Professor Paul Nealey published an article in MacroMolecules, about their research concerning the characterization of the macrophase separation of symmetric block copolymers in thin films. They used the XSD 8-ID-E beamline at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) of Argonne National Laboratory to shed light on this interesting phenomenon.
The self-assembling nature of block copolymer (BCP) films has garnered a tremendous deal of scientific interest due to a large variety of potential applications in fields that require the use of patterned nanoscale features. BCPs can be blended with a homopolymer as well as with other BCPs to tailor specific physical properties such as the domain spacing, mobility, and morphology of the uniform microdomain structure.
The research will lead to novel methods through the assembly of different sized microstructures in the same film and, additionally, new possibilities for template applications may be realized.
Story courtesy of Argonne Today.