Alteration of Classical Microdomain Patterns of Block Copolymers by Degenerate Epitaxy

Degenerate epitaxial crystallization of a semicrystalline block terpolymer is utilized to alter the polymer's normal microdomain structure. It is demonstrated that the strong interaction created by crystallographic matching of unit cells between the crystalline polyethylene (PE) block and the anthracene substrate forces the amorphous polystyrene (PS) cylindrical microdomains into a new nanoscale structure (see Figure).