All-conjugated block copolymers are an emerging class of polymeric materials promising for organic electronic applications, but further progress requires a better understanding of their microstructure including crystallinity and self-assembly through micro-phase segregation. Here, we demonstrate remarkable changes in the thin film structure of a model series of all-conjugated block copolymers w...

We derive an expression for the free energy of the blends of block copolymers expressed as a functional of the density distribution of the monomer of each block. The expression is a generalization of the Flory-Huggins-de Gennes theory for homo polymer blends, and also a generalization of the Ohta-Kawasaki theory for the melts of diblock copolymers. The expression can be used for any blends of h...

The synthesis and electrochemical properties of novel block copolymers are reported. Three different norbornene derivatives having phenylene-thiophene, phenylene-bithiophene, and phenylene-furan structures were copolymerized with either norbornene or 7-oxanorbornene derivatives via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). Block copolymers’ stabilities and solubilities could be improved by...

The applications of block copolymers are myriad, ranging from electronics to functionalized resins to therapeutics. The ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) is an especially valuable reaction for block copolymer assembly because each block can be generated with length control. We sought to use this polymerization to expand the repertoire of block copolymers by implementing a strategy t...

The design and synthesis of suitable block copolymers, such as those consisting of both flexible components and rigid components, as building blocks for highly ordered supramolecular architectures have attracted considerable attention in the past several decades. The resulting supramolecular structures can potentially offer various functionalities by means of their photophysical, electrochemica...

Bioengineered spider silk block copolymers were studied to understand the effect of protein chain length and sequence chemistry on the formation of secondary structure and materials assembly. Using a combination of in vitro protein design and assembly studies, we demonstrate that silk block copolymers possessing multiple repetitive units self-assemble into lamellar microstructures. Additionally...

Nanotechnology is the field which deals with fabrication of materials with dimensions in the nanometer range by manipulating atoms and molecules. Various synthesis routes exist for the one, two and three dimensional nanostructures. Recent advancements in nanotechnology have enabled the usage of block copolymers for the synthesis of such nanostructures. Block copolymers are versatile polymers wi...

Hydrophobic ultrahigh molecular weight bottlebrush block copolymer and linear block copolymer of polystyrene-polylactide (PS-PLA) were shown to be capable of forming Langmuir monolayers and exhibiting unique assembly behaviors at the air/water interface, which cannot be addressed by the classic theory of Langmuir monolayer of amphiphilic copolymers. New models were proposed to illustrate these ...

New synthetic methodologies for the formation of block copolymers have revolutionized polymer science within the last two decades. However, the formation of supramolecular block copolymers composed of alternating sequences of larger block segments has not been realized yet. Here we show by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), 2D NMR and optical spectroscopy that two different perylene bisimi...