Long-range order of supramolecular structures in amorphous butadiene-styrene block copolymers

Abstract

The various methods for determining quantitatively the dimensions of morphological structures from electron micrographs as well as evaluation of small-angle electron and X-ray diffraction are reviewed briefly. In continuation of previous work, the types of long-range order of supramolecular structures observed in two-block butadiene-styrene (BS) copolymers of very uniform molecular structure are discussed. By phase separation, aggregates of the one type of block with uniform shapes and sizes are formed which are arranged strictly periodically in the matrix consisting of the other type of block. Apart from “lattice imperfections,” special regard is given to the formation of boundaries between regions with long-range order of domains. The macroscopic lattices observed in BS block copolymers are compared with the latticelike arrays of colloidal particles found in other systems of a completely different chemical nature.