Discovering Complex Ordered Phases of Block Copolymers
Prof. An-Chang Shi (Department of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University, Canada)

Block copolymers with their rich phase behavior have become a paradigm for the study of structured soft materials. Understanding the phases and phase transitions of block copolymers has attracted much attention in the past two decades. Theoretically the self-consistent field theory (SCFT) provides a powerful framework for the study of inhomogeneous polymeric systems. In particular, many researchers have demonstrated that SCFT can be used to describe the phase behavior of block copolymers. My talk will focus on our recent development of strategies to discover complex ordered phases of block copolymers within the SCFT framework. Specifically, we utilize a combination of real-space and reciprocal-space techniques, coupled with different initialization schemes, to explore possible ordered phases for a given block copolymer system. These candidate phases can then be used to construct phase diagrams. Application of this strategy to linear and star ABC triblock copolymers has led to the discovery of a rich array of ordered phases.