| We present two classes of nanostructured materials by combining the self assembly of block copolymer (BCP) with suitable small molecule chemistry, which are applicable to organic electro-optics (EO) and as etch-resistant masks for nanofabrication. The underlying principles of designing the specific interactions between BCP host and guest molecules, driving the self-assembly in bulk and thin film, and dictating domain orientation are concepts common to both of these areas.;Nanostructured EO materials were created by selectively encapsulating EO chromophores by hydrogen-bonding to the pyridine groups of a linear-diblock copolymer (linear-diBCP) namely polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinyl pyridine) [PS-b-P4VP], or a linear-dendritic-BCP. With the linear-diBCP host, we discovered that poled order in confined domains depends on domain shape, chromophore concentration within the domain, and thermal history. The linear-dendritic-BCP is an excellent host as it efficiently disperses the chromophores into small domains (5-10nm), and keeps the chromophores apart within the domains due to the dendritic architecture. These morphological effects translated into excellent film processability, increased chromophore loading, and two-fold enhancements in the EO coefficient (r 33) when compared to a corresponding homopolymer system.;A new class of organic-inorganic nanostructured materials based on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) was synthesized as a passive template for pattern transfer. We developed a living anionic polymerization route for methacrylate-functionalized POSS and synthesized two kinds of BCPs, namely PS-b-PMAPOSS and PMMA-b-PMAPOSS. The anionic route allows high degree of polymerization, narrow polydispersity, and tunable POSS block length. These lead to well defined spherical, cylindrical, and lamellar morphologies, as well as formation of hierarchical structures upon thermal annealing. Both POSS-containing BCPs were assembled in thin film and converted to hard masks by single step selective oxygen plasma etching. The control over domain orientation, the high etch-selectivity between the blocks, and the ability to access small domain sizes (< 10nm) make POSS-containing BCPs a unique material platform to create etch-resistant masks. We developed a synthetically straightforward approach to designing organic-inorganic nanostructures by exploiting non-covalent interactions between PS-b-P4VP BCP host and epoxy-functionalized POSS. These composites resulted in dot arrays, which were converted to silica templates for potential applications in biosensing and heterogenous catalysis. |
