Systematic Control of Morphology and Properties Through Graft Copolymer Molecular Architecture
Abstract
The goal of this project is to understand how variations in the molecular architecture of block and graft copolymers can be manipulated in order to develop materials with exceptional mechanical, transport, and optical properties, tailored for Army applications. We systematically explored the effect of these different molecular architectures on the nanometer scale, morphological self assembly of the materials. Our research has demonstrated, that a large number of the possible molecular variations can be represented by a single molecular asymmetry parameter, which we have used to develop an understanding of morphology in these materials. We have demonstrated that long range order of microphase separated morphology is reduced as the number of branch points increases in graft copolymers. Additionally, excellent elastomeric mechanical properties are obtained in graft copolymers with tetrafunctional branch points and seven or more branch points per molecule.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA392526
Entities
People
- Samuel P. Gido
Organizations
- University of Massachusetts Amherst