Scattering studies of novel degradable block copolymers of strong segregation class

We have investigated microdomain structures of novel block copolymers, poly(p-tert-pentyloxyvinylbebzene-b-p-vinylphenol) and poly(p-tert-pentyloxy-vinylbebzene-b-p-vinylphenol-b-p-tert-pentyloxyvinylbebzene) with small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). We analyzed SAXS profiles of the block copolymers in their ordered state with paracrystal theory, and found that the block copolymers formed the lamella structures in the order of 1 nm with long-range order. We estimated the lower-limit size of the microdomain structure by analyzing the order-disorder transition of the block copolymer solutions and explored that we can attain 7.6 nm by decreasing the molecular weight of block copolymers.