Ordered melts of block copolymers of ethylene oxide and 1,2-butylene oxide

Abstract

An account is presented of recent work on specially synthesised diblock, triblock and cyclic block copolymers of ethylene oxide and 1,2-butylene oxide. Simultaneous small-angle X-ray scattering and differential scanning calorimetry have been used to investigate the effects of block architecture on the stabilities and structures of microphase-separated melts. Stable lamellar, hexagonal, body-centred cubic and gyroid phases were detected. Phase diagrams are compared, one with another and with those predicted by the exact self-consistent mean-field theory, and centre-block stretching in lamellar phases is confirmed.