Nanoporous Polyethylene Thin Films Templated by Polymeric Bicontinuous Microemulsions: Evolution of Morphology on Non-neutral Substrates

作者：Jones Brad H; Cheng Kai Yuan; Holmes Russell J; Lodge Timothy P^*

来源：ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2011, 3(10): 4101-4111.

DOI：10.1021/am2009794

• nanoporous polyethylene
• bicontinuous microemulsion
• ternary polymer blend
• thin film morphology
• indium tin oxide
• scanning electron microscopy

Polymeric bicontinuous microemulsions (B mu E), found in well-designed ternary blends of two homopolymers and a diblock copolymer, have been extensively studied in the bulk, for example, as versatile templates for the synthesis of nanoporous materials. However, there have been few reports regarding B mu E-forming blends as films and the potential impact of confinement on the morphology of such blends. We have investigated the morphology of ternary blends of polyethylene (PE), poly(ethylene-alt-propylene) (PEP), and poly(ethylene-b-ethylene-alt-propylene) (PE-PEP) on a variety of substrates. The films were rendered nanoporous by selective extraction of the PEP component, which also created contrast for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Blends that form B mu Es in the bulk were found to undergo an evolution of morphology from a B mu E to a macro-phase separated state, induced by the segregation of blend components to the film interfaces. The dynamics of the transformation are accelerated by decreasing film thickness. The results presented indicate that B mu Es can be kinetically trapped on arbitrary substrates, which has important implications for the production of bicontinuous, nanoporous films.

• 出版日期2011-10