Phase Behavior of a Single Structured Ionomer Chain in Solution

D Aryal and T Etampawala and D Perahia and GS Grest, MACROMOLECULAR THEORY AND SIMULATIONS, 23, 543-549 (2014).

DOI: 10.1002/mats.201400046

Structured polymers offer a means to tailor transport pathways within mechanically stable manifolds. The building block of such a membrane is examined, namely a single large pentablock co-polymer that consists of a center block of a randomly sulfonated polystyrene, designed for transport, tethered to poly-ethylene-r-propylene and end-capped by poly- t-butyl styrene, for mechanical stability, using molecular dynamics simulations. The polymer structure in a cyclohexane-heptane mixture, a technologically viable solvent, and in water, a poor solvent for all segments and a ubiquitous substance is extracted. In all solvents the pentablock collapsed into nearly spherical aggregates where the ionic block is segregated. In hydrophobic solvents, the ionic block resides in the center, surrounded by swollen intermix of flexible and end blocks. In water all blocks are collapsed with the sulfonated block residing on the surface. Our results demonstrate that solvents drive different local nano-segregation, providing a gateway to assemble membranes with controlled topology.

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