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Compositionally asymmetric diblock copolymers provide an attractive platform for understanding the emergence of tetragonally close-packed, Frank–Kasper phases in soft matter. Block-polymer phase behavior is governed by a straightforward competition between chain stretching and interfacial tension under the constraint of filling space at uniform density. Experiments have revealed that diblock copolymers with insufficient conformational asymmetry to form Frank–Kasper phases in the neat-melt state undergo an interconversion from body-centered cubic (bcc) close-packed micelles to a succession of Frank–Kasper phases (σ to C14 to C15) upon the addition of minority-block homopolymer in the dry-brush regime, accompanied by the expected transition from bcc to hexagonally packed cylinders in the wet-brush regime. Self-consistent field theory data presented here qualitatively reproduce the salient features of the experimental phase behavior. A particle-by-particle analysis of homopolymer partitioning furnishes a basis for understanding the symmetry breaking from the high-symmetry bcc phase to the lower-symmetry Frank–Kasper phases, wherein the reconfiguration of the system into polyhedra of increasing volume asymmetry delays the onset of macroscopic phase separation.
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Shear-Modulated Rates of Phase Transitions in Sphere-Forming Diblock Oligomer Lyotropic Liquid Crystals
ABSTRACT: Hydration of the amphiphilic diblock oligomer C16H33(CH2CH2O)20OH (C16E20) leads to concentration-dependent formation of micellar body-centered cubic (BCC) and Frank− Kasper A15 lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs). Quiescent thermal annealing of aqueous LLCs comprising 56−59 wt % C16E20 at 25 °C after quenching from high temperatures established their ability to form short-lived BCC phases, which transform into long-lived, transient Frank−Kasper σ phases en route to equilibrium A15 morphologies on a time scale of months. Here, the frequency and magnitude of applied oscillatory shear show the potential to either dynamically stabilize the metastable BCC phase at low frequencies or increase the rate of formation of the A15 to minutes at high frequencies. Time-resolved synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (TR-SAXS) provides in situ characterization of the structures during shear and thermal processing. This work shows that the LLC morphology and order−order phase transformation rates can be controlled by tuning the shear strain amplitude and frequency.
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- PAR ID:
- 10228134
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ACS Macro Letters
- Volume:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 2161-1653
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 538 to 544
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.1c00154
