Morphology Transition of Block Copolymers under Curved Confinement

Abstract

Abstract The morphology transitions in AB diblock and ABA triblock copolymers confined between flat and curved surfaces were investigated by MC simulations. Upon variation of the extent of frustration between thickness d and bulk lamellae period L 0 , parallel and vertical or distorted vertical lamellar structures appear in both flat and curved confinements. With increasing curvature, the compatibility of d and L 0 becomes more perturbed so that perfectly parallel lamellae are formed with increasing difficulty. Owing to the smaller L 0 of ABA as compared to AB, the transformation frequency of the incompatible region of d / L 0(ABA) is more notable for ABA and the corresponding transformation period is larger than that of AB. magnified image