Microphase separation of double-grafted copolymers (centipedes) with gradient, random, and regular sequence of the branch points

摘要

We propose a theory of microphase separation of the double-grafted copolymer melts with different types of branch point distribution. It is shown that copolymers with gradient sequence of the branch points form a microstructure easier (at smaller values of the Flory-Huggins parameters) than equivalent copolymers with random or regular sequences. Two characteristic types of the microphase separation, "diblock-" and "comblike" are predicted. Due to the existence of the two characteristic length scales (the length of the backbone and the length of the side chains), the two-scale switching is possible. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.