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Block Copolymers and Photonic Band Gap Materials

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Controlling the Morphology of Polymers

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Abstract

Block copolymers are materials which consist of two or more polymer chains covalently bonded together in a single chain. In a similar way to polymer blends the two blocks may phase separate but the process is substantially different; structures are developed on length scales between 5 and 500 nm. The phase separation of the blocks gives rise to periodic structures with arrangements which depend on the nature of the polymer and the size of the blocks, and such materials offer the potential for a “bottom up” approach to the construction of structures on sub-micrometre scales. Block copolymers have a wide range of uses, however, the ability to produce repeating structure on sub-micrometre length scales has particularly attracted interest in their use as photonic and phononic band gap materials. In this chapter we discuss the origin of photonic band gaps, the synthesis of block copolymers, the connections between chemical structure and the large scale structures and the limitations and alternatives to these materials particularly with regard to their interactions with different wavelengths of light.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Interestingly even protonated and deuterated polystyrene has been found to be incompatible at sufficiently high molecular weights (Bates et al. 1985).

  2. 2.

    This differs from the reflections observed from a standard mirror which relates to conductivity of the mirror’s tain (highly polished, reflective metal coating) and the abundance of mobile electrons; the electrons respond to an applied electromagnetic field by generating an equal and opposite electromagnetic field of their own, hence reflection is observed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. AWE, Aldermaston, Reading, RG7 4PR, UK

    Dario C. Castiglione

  2. Department of Chemistry, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AD, UK

    Fred J. Davis

Authors
  1. Dario C. Castiglione
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  2. Fred J. Davis
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Correspondence to Dario C. Castiglione .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, Institute Polytechnic of Leiria, Marinha Grande, Portugal

    Geoffrey R. Mitchell

  2. Center for Rapid and Sustainable Product Development, Institute Polytechnic of Leiria, Marinha Grande, Portugal

    Ana Tojeira

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Castiglione, D.C., Davis, F.J. (2016). Block Copolymers and Photonic Band Gap Materials. In: Mitchell, G., Tojeira, A. (eds) Controlling the Morphology of Polymers. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39322-3_10

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