Rapid Generation of Block Copolymer Libraries Using Automated Chromatographic Separation
- 18 May 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Vol. 142 (21), 9843-9849
- https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.0c04028
Abstract
A versatile and scalable strategy is reported for the rapid generation of block copolymer libraries spanning a wide range of compositions starting from a single parent copolymer. This strategy employs automated and operationally simple chromatographic separation that is demonstrated to be applicable to a variety of block copolymer chemistries on multigram scales with excellent mass recovery. The corresponding phase diagrams exhibit increased compositional resolution compared to those traditionally constructed via multiple, individual block copolymer syntheses. Increased uniformity and lower dispersity of the chromatographic libraries lead to differences in the location of order–order transitions and observable morphologies, highlighting the influence of dispersity on the self-assembly of block copolymers. Significantly, this separation technique greatly simplifies the exploration of block copolymer phase space across a range of compositions, monomer pairs, and molecular weights (up to 50000 amu), producing materials with increased control and homogeneity when compared to conventional strategies.Funding Information
- National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1157440)
- Australian Research Council (CE140100036)
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (P41GM103393)
- Division of Materials Research (DMR-1720256, DMR-1844987)
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