Supramolecular Nanostructured and Liquid Crystalline Polymer Materials and films

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Nanotechnology necessitates the ability to construct very precise nanostructures or nano-objects with well-defined shapes, sizes, and long-range order, as well as specific responsiveness to external stimuli such as light and temperature. One of the most important methods to achieve this is by the self-assembly of appropriately designed molecules. This is the approach privileged by nature, giving very complex but exquisitely designed biological structures having highly sophisticated functions. For materials scientists, two types of molecules that self-assemble in specific ways are liquid crystals and block copolymers, giving nano- and meso-structured materials, respectively. These are thus ideal starting materials for the design of complex man-made nanostructures. We have previously pioneered in "marrying" liquid crystals and polymers through supramolecular chemistry - i.e. by directing the assembly of the two components (building blocks) via specific non-covalent interactions. This is an extremely versatile approach for tailoring the specific properties of the material for specific purposes, including for the incorporation of stimuli-responsive functions. We will now combine block copolymers and stimuli-sensitive liquid crystals via the supramolecular approach for the purpose of obtaining novel "intelligent" materials with hierarchical structure (i.e. periodicity on several lengthscales, nano and meso) and with specific function associated with one or more of the structural levels.