Self-assembly of block copolymers

In the past year, several theories of anisotropic fluctuations in ordered copolymer phases have been merged with the detailed studies of these complex phases which have been ongoing since the mid 1990s. Subtle issues have been clarified which related to the stability of the ordered phases and the kinetic pathways between these phases, as well as those between ordered and disordered phases. An extension of these activities to studies on blends of diblock copolymers and diblock/homopolymers, both theoretical and experimental, is now beginning to develop.