Origins of low-symmetry phases in asymmetric diblock copolymer melts

Cooling disordered compositionally asymmetric diblock copolymers leads to the formation of nearly spherical particles, each containing hundreds of molecules, which crystallize upon cooling below the order-disorder transition temperature (T_ODT). Self-consistent field theory (SCFT) reveals that dispersity in the block degrees of polymerization stabilizes various Frank-Kasper phases, including the C14 and C15 Laves phases, which have been accessed …