Polymerisation-induced self-assembly of liquid crystalline block copolymers

As we approach the technical limits of size scalability of electronics for
the next generation of electronic devices, interest grows in novel materials with controllable feature sizes in the sub-10nm regime. Complex
self-assembly behaviour has therefor become a significant area of research, both within academia as well as industry.
This thesis is concerned with the self-assembly behaviour of liquid
crystalline block copolymers based of methacrylic backbone synthesised via reversible-addition fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerisation. In particular, the effects of incorporation of liquid crystalline elements on the polymerisation-induced self-assembly (PISA) is
investigated. PISA has in recent years been established as an effective
method of preparing tunable nanostructures from copolymers. The
morphology of these structures can be controlled based on reaction
variables such as % solids, solvent and block fractions. Introduction
of mesogens into the self-assembly process offers another potential
way of controlling the self-assembly process.
Other methods can be used to manipulate the resulting morphologies of the nanoparticles and films once prepared. Within this thesis,
the impact of thermal and solvent annealing on the thin films are
investigated on thin films formed by the prepared LCBCPs.