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Macroscopic Regulation of Hierarchical Nanostructures in Liquid-crystalline Block Copolymers towards Functional Materials

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Abstract

The great potential of liquid-crystalline block copolymers (LCBCs) containing photoresponsive mesogens toward novel applications in photonics and nanotechnology has been attracting increasing attention, due to the combination of the inherent property of microphase separation of block copolymers and the hierarchically-assembled structures of liquid-crystalline polymers (LCPs). The periodically ordered nanostructures in bulk film of LCBCs can be acquired by supramolecular cooperative motion, derived from the interaction between liquid-crystalline elastic deformation and microphase separation, which are able to improve physical properties of polymer film toward advanced functional applications. Moreover, various micro/nano-patterned structures have been fabricated via light manipulation of photoresponsive LCBCs with good reproducibility and mass production. Thanks to recent developments in synthesis and polymerization techniques, diverse azobenzene-containing LCBCs have been designed, resulting in the creation of a wide variety of novel functions. This review illustrates recent progresses in macroscopic regulation of hierarchical nanostructures in LCBCs towards functional materials. The existing challenges are also discussed, showing perspectives for future studies.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2018YFB0703702) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51773002 and 51921002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Feng Cai, Yu-Xuan Chen, Wen-Zhong Wang & Hai-Feng Yu

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  1. Feng Cai
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  2. Yu-Xuan Chen
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  3. Wen-Zhong Wang
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  4. Hai-Feng Yu
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Correspondence to Hai-Feng Yu.

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Biography

Hai-Feng Yu received his PhD degree from Tsinghua University in 2003. Then he went to Japan, where he worked as a researcher at JST-CREST, and then as a postdoc at JSPS at Tokyo Institute of Technology and Kyodo University. In 2008, he started his independent research as Associate Professor by special appointment at Nagaoka University of Technology. In 2012, he joined Peking University as a research professor as the “2011 National Thousand Young Talents Program” recipient. In 2013, he obtained the “NSFC Award” for Excellent Young Scholar. His research interests focus on photo-responsive soft matter, supramolecular self-assembled materials and organic/inorganic hybrid materials.

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Cai, F., Chen, YX., Wang, WZ. et al. Macroscopic Regulation of Hierarchical Nanostructures in Liquid-crystalline Block Copolymers towards Functional Materials. Chin J Polym Sci 39, 397–416 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-021-2531-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-021-2531-1

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