Self-assembled block polymers containing a sacrificial (i.e., chemically etchable) component are versatile precursors to functional nanoporous materials. The two most common ordered morphologies used to generate nanoporous materials in this way are the hexagonally-packed cylindrical and bicontinuous gyroid phases.
In this talk, Professor Marc Hillmyer will discuss approaches to nanostructured, bicontinuous but disorganized morphologies through either thermal or light-induced chemical fixation of block polymers in the disordered state in close proximity to the order-disorder transition.