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Free keywords:
block copolymer self-assembly, distortion in soft matter crystals, ptychographic X-ray computed tomography, single- and alternating-diamond morphologies, structural characterization, Computerized tomography, Diamond cutting tools, Hard facing, Hybrid composites, Light sensitive materials, Metamaterials, Nanoclay, Nanocomposites, Photonic band gap, Block co polymers, Block copolymer self-assembly, Diamond morphology, Distortion in soft matter crystal, Ptychographic X-ray computed tomography, Single- and alternating-diamond morphology, Soft matter, Structural characterization, X-ray computed tomography, X-ray nanotomography, Self assembly
Abstract:
Block copolymers are recognized as a valuable platform for creating nanostructured materials. Morphologies formed by block copolymer self-assembly can be transferred into a wide range of inorganic materials, enabling applications including energy storage and metamaterials. However, imaging of the underlying, often complex, nanostructures in large volumes has remained a challenge, limiting progress in materials development. Taking advantage of recent advances in X-ray nanotomography, we noninvasively imaged exceptionally large volumes of nanostructured hybrid materials at high resolution, revealing a single-diamond morphology in a triblock terpolymer-gold composite network. This morphology, which is ubiquitous in nature, has so far remained elusive in block copolymer-derived materials, despite its potential to create materials with large photonic bandgaps. The discovery was made possible by the precise analysis of distortions in a large volume of the self-assembled diamond network, which are difficult to unambiguously assess using traditional characterization tools. We anticipate that high-resolution X-ray nanotomography, which allows imaging of much larger sample volumes than electron-based tomography, will become a powerful tool for the quantitative analysis of complex nanostructures and that structures such as the triblock terpolymer-directed single diamond will enable the generation of advanced multicomponent composites with hitherto unknown property profiles. © 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.
