Directing self-assembly of nanoscopic cylindrical diblock brush terpolymers into films with desired spatial orientations: Expansion of chemical composition scope

Abstract

Diblock brush terpolymers (DBTs) with different fluorinated methacrylate-based block segments are synthesized through sequential ring-opening metathesis polymerizations and are used to prepare polymer thin films with predictable film thicknesses. These DBTs exhibit preferable substrate vertical alignments within the films, induced by the relatively lower surface energy of the fluorinated structural components, together with the overall cylindrical morphology of the brush architecture. Diblock brush terpolymers are synthesized and studied for their ability to produce vertically substrate-aligned thin films, based upon their compositions and dimensions. With reliance on the overall cylindrical morphology of the brush architecture, these unique materials are being developed as advanced photolithography systems. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.