Tunable directed self assembly (DSA) of multicomponent thin films is important for advanced technological applications. This requires controlling a complex interplay of processing parameters that need to be properly optimized for different organized structures. This talk will discuss some of our recent success towards tunable DSA of soft matter multicomponent systems involving block copolymers and polymer blends with polymer grafted nanoparticles in polymer films. Towards this end, recent DSA methods for films involving the use of zone-annealing with soft-shear, nanopatterning and direct immersion annealing (DIA) will be discussed. In this context, the potential of DSA fabricated block copolymer based capacitors for high energy density pulsed power will be presented, and a newly observed phenomena of entropic confinement driven order of polymer grafted nanoparticles, from metallic to insulating, into patterned channels and circuits by topographical soft confinement will be discussed in terms of partition coefficient and free energy gain.

Facile directed-assembly ordering of polymer nanoparticle films

251st National Meeting (2016)

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