Synthesis of rod-coil diblock copolymers by ATRP and their honeycomb morphologies formed by the 'breath figures' method

We have synthesized rod-coil diblock PPQ-b-PMMA copolymers by using the versatile atom-transfer radical polymerization method and have characterized them by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The methyl ketone-terminated rod-coil diblock PMMA copolymer has a higher value of Tg, because of its syndiotactic-like structure, and a higher decomposition temperature than does the PMMA homopolymer. The presence of the PPQ block tends to retard the early decomposition of the PMMA chain. A regularly porous, honeycomb-structured film was prepared from the dichloromethane solution of the diblock copolymers under a flow of moist air. The diameters of the spherical pores can be controlled in the range from 0.8 to 3 μm by modifying both the rod-coil copolymers' relative molecular weights and the casting conditions. The wall thickness of the film is varied linearly with the relative molecular mass (Mr).