Influence of strongly interacting homopolymers on the long-range order in semicrystalline block copolymer templates

Long-range order and the strength of domain segregation in semicrystalline block copolymers are often hindered by the rapid crystallization within the blocks. We found that the copolymer template ordering in such a case can be improved by blending with an amorphous homopolymer that strongly selectively interacts with the crystallizing segments. Neutron scattering studies show that template order in a weakly segregated semicrystalline poly (ethylene oxide-propylene oxide-ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) is significantly improved when blended with poly (acrylic acid) (PAA). Strongly selective hydrogen bonding interactions between PAA and the ether oxygen in PEO coupled with repulsive interactions between PAA and PPO improve the segregation strength, resulting in long-range order