TOWARDS THERMALLY CROSS-LINKED DEBLOCK COPOLYMER TEMPLATES USING POLY[(STYRENE-R-BENZOCYCLOBUTENE)-fl-D,L-LACTICACID]

摘要

The ability to control the thermal stability of diblock copolymers micro-phase separated structures can have a profound impact on their potential applications, such as data storage and nano-scale tcmplating. Access to a regular array of features is important in addressable media, while thermal stsability is vital since the template may be exposed to higher temperatures in these applications. Polymers containing thermally cross-linkable groups such as benzocyclobutene (BCB) have been used to create various types of polymer nanoparticles. Diblock copolymers that use this eross-linking chemistry can be annealed then subsequently heated to cross-link and thermally set the phase-separated morphology, eliminating the need for multi-step preparations such as UV irradiation or ion etching. We have synthesized dibloek copolymers using poly[(styrene-r-benzocyclobutene)-6-D,L-laclic acid] (PSBCBLA) which contains a thermally cross-linkable matrix and a base degradable cylindrical phase. Our research focuses on the synthesis, bulk characterization, and thin film template synthesis using the PSBCBLA system.