Computational study of the morphology and mechanical properties of dilute ABC triblock copolymers

Dissipative particle dynamics was used to predict the morphology and mechanical properties of unentangled linear ABC triblock copolymer gels, where the midblock is solvophilic. By varying the A, B, and C fraction in the triblock, we observe a variety of multicomponent micelles in addition to singula...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inKorea-Australia rheology journal Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 49 - 61
Main Authors Chantawansri, Tanya L, Sliozberg, Yelena R
Format Journal Article
LanguageKorean
Published 2014
Subjects
morphology
multicomponent micelles
dissipative particle dynamics
computational modeling
mechanical properties
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Summary:Dissipative particle dynamics was used to predict the morphology and mechanical properties of unentangled linear ABC triblock copolymer gels, where the midblock is solvophilic. By varying the A, B, and C fraction in the triblock, we observe a variety of multicomponent micelles in addition to singular A and C micelles. These multicomponent micelles include sphere-on-sphere micelles, multi-sphere-on-sphere, worm-like micelles, and branched micelles. Simulation cells were also subjected to deformation under uni-axial tension, and correlated to the extent of macrophase separation. Values of elastic modulus were also extracted from the calculated stress using the theory of linear elasticity. Extracted values of the modulus are shown to scale inversely with the midblock length which agrees with other theoretical predictions.
Bibliography:KISTI1.1003/JNL.JAKO201407659096713
ISSN:1226-119X
2093-7660