NANOSTRUCTURE CONTROL FOR TUNING THE GLASS TRANSITION TEMPERATURE OF POLYSTYRENE BY 100 K:BLENDS AND MULTILAYER FILMS

摘要

The glass transition temperature (T_g) of an ultrathin polystyrene (PS) layer within a multilayer film geometry was analyzed by using a fluorescence technique; the T_gs of PS layers were tuned over 100 K by varying the species and thickness of the neighboring polymer layer. Similar Tg perturbations were observed for the first time in poly(styrene-block-4-vinylpyridine)/poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) blends. The T_g of the styrene block nanodomains increased by ～40 K by reducing the styrene block composition within the blends. This study suggests a novel route to create new material properties controlled by the polymer type and nanoconfined dimension in multilayer films and nanostructured blends.