Jewelry Box of Morphologies with Mesoscopic Length Scales - ABC Star-shaped Terpolymers.

Among several star molecules studied so far, the results for two similar but slightly different systems composed of all hydrophobic components, i.e. one low T(g) arm and two high T(g) arms were compared and discussed mainly. They are polyisoprene-arm-polystyrene-arm-poly(2-vinylpyridine) stars and polystyrene-arm-polybutadiene-arm-poly(2-vinylpyridine) ones, and are abbreviated as ISP and SBV, respectively, in the original literatures. Several periodic Archimedean tiling patterns can be naturally formed when the relative lengths of three chains are similar one another in both series. Core-shell type morphologies and actually three-phase four layer lamellar structures were also commonly observed for two series. A quasicrystalline tiling with dodecagonal symmetry can also be conformed at the targeted composition of ISP/homopolymer blend and a zinc-blende type structure was created at just a little outside of tiling region for the same blend. Furthermore, the several interesting structures from amphiphilic molecules, composed of a hydrophilic component, poly(ethylene oxide), a hydrophobic component, polymethylmethacrylate and a highly water-repellent polymer poly(perfluoropropyleneoxide) are described and introduced.