Self-assembly of lamella-forming diblock copolymers confined in nanochannels: Effect of confinement geometry* *Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11204215, 51302187, 20990234, 20925414, 21204040, and 91227121), the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City, China (Grant Nos. 12JCYBJC32500 and 14JCZDJC32100), the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (PCSIRT) (Grant No. IRT1257), and the 111 Project. A. C. Shi gratefully acknowledges the supports from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.

Abstract

The self-assembly of symmetric diblock copolymers confined in the channels of variously shaped cross sections (regular triangles, squares, and ellipses) is investigated using a simulated annealing technique. In the bulk, the studied symmetric diblock copolymers form a lamellar structure with period LL. The geometry and surface property of the confining channels have a large effect on the self-assembled structures and the orientation of the …