Bimodality and re-entrant behaviour in the hierarchical self-assembly of polymeric nanoparticles

C. K., Sarika ; Tomar, Gaurav ; Basu, J. K. ; Thiele, Uwe (2015) Bimodality and re-entrant behaviour in the hierarchical self-assembly of polymeric nanoparticles Soft Matter, 11 (46). pp. 8975-8980. ISSN 1744-683X

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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.1039/C5SM02108A

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C5SM02108A

Abstract

We show that a film of a suspension of polymer grafted nanoparticles on a liquid substrate can be employed to create two-dimensional nanostructures with a remarkable variation in the pattern length scales. The presented experiments also reveal the emergence of concentration-dependent bimodal patterns as well as re-entrant behaviour that involves length scales due to dewetting and compositional instabilities. The experimental observations are explained through a gradient dynamics model consisting of coupled evolution equations for the height of the suspension film and the concentration of polymer. Using a Flory–Huggins free energy functional for the polymer solution, we show in a linear stability analysis that the thin film undergoes dewetting and/or compositional instabilities depending on the concentration of the polymer in the solution. We argue that the formation via ‘hierarchical self-assembly’ of various functional nanostructures observed in different systems can be explained as resulting from such an interplay of instabilities.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to Royal Society of Chemistry.
ID Code:116066
Deposited On:22 Mar 2021 06:58
Last Modified:22 Mar 2021 06:58

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