| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Salvador, Michele A.
[1]
;
Bianchi, Andrea G. C.
[1]
;
Pereira-da-Silva, Marcelo A.
[2, 3]
;
Carvalho, Antonio J. F.
[4]
;
Faria, Roberto M.
[3]
Total Authors: 5
|
| Affiliation: | [1] Univ Fed Ouro Preto, Dept Phys, BR-35400000 Ouro Preto, MG - Brazil
[2] UNICEP, Ctr Univ Cent Paulista, BR-13563470 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil
[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Phys, BR-1356970 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil
[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Mat Engn, BR-1356970 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 4
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | Polymer; v. 51, n. 18, p. 4145-4151, AUG 19 2010. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 2 |
| Abstract | |
Highly ordered A-B-A block copolymer arrangements in the submicrometric scale, resulting from dewetting and solvent evaporation of thin films, have inspired a variety of new applications in the nanometric world. Despite the progress observed in the control of such structures, the intricate scientific phenomena related to regular patterns formation are still not completely elucidated. SEBS is a standard example of a triblock copolymer that forms spontaneously impressive pattern arrangements. From macroscopic thin liquid films of SEBS solution, several physical effects and phenomena act synergistically to achieve well-arranged patterns of stripes and/or droplets. That is, concomitant with dewetting, solvent evaporation, and Marangoni effect, Rayleigh instability and phase separation also play important role in the pattern formation. These two last effects are difficult to be followed experimentally in the nanoscale, which render difficulties to the comprehension of the whole phenomenon. In this paper, we use computational methods for image analysis, which provide quantitative morphometric data of the patterns, specifically comprising stripes fragmentation into droplets. With the help of these computational techniques, we developed an explanation for the final part of the pattern formation, i.e. structural dynamics related to the stripes fragmentation. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (AU) | |