Self-assembly of block copolymers which can interact via hydrogen bonds

In the last few decades, the use of block copolymers in nanotechnology has known an important growth in the scientific world due to their interesting properties. These polymers can be used to obtain a wide range of nanostructured materials in solution (micelles) or in the solid phase (thin films). An interesting method to modulate specific dimensions and the morphology of these nanostructures consists in mixing together two copolymers, or one copolymer and one homopolymer. If in addition to being mutually miscible, some sequences interact together through specific non-covalent interactions, an additional degree of control can be obtained. In this thesis, hydrogen bonds are considered. Different mixtures are studied: AC + B, AC + BC, AC + BD, CAD + B,… where A and B are the interacting blocks. The non-covalent (A+B) complexes resulting from these interactions could be either insoluble or soluble, leading respectively to the formation of micelles or thin films. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the formation of micelles where the core is formed by the insoluble complexes and the corona by the soluble chains. The aim of this study is to investigate and to understand the different parameters which influence the size and the morphology of the micelles. Micelles with a homogeneous corona are formed from AB+C or AB+CA mixtures and micelles with a heterogeneous corona from AC + BD, CAD + B,… mixtures. The second part of this thesis is dedicated to the formation of thin films. The influence of the addition of PAA homopolymers on the self-assembly of PS-b-PEO, which presents an initial cylindrical morphology, is studied. Depending on the amount and on the length of the PAA added, a change in the characteristic size (lattice spacing and cylinder size) and a change in morphology can be expected. Moreover, the PAA can be removed in order to create porosity inside the films. The characteristics of the accordingly formed membranes are studied.(CHIM 3) -- UCL, 200