Block Copolymer Nanocomposites with High Refractive Index Contrast for One-Step Photonics

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• 作者：Dong-Po Song ; Cheng Li ; Wenhao Li ; James J. Watkins
• 刊名：ACS Nano
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：January 26, 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：10
• 期：1
• 页码：1216-1223
• 全文大小：486K
• ISSN：1936-086X

文摘

Photonic crystals (PhCs) prepared using the self-assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) offer the potential for simple and rapid device fabrication but typically suffer from low refractive index contrast (Δn ≤ 0.1) between the phase-segregated domains. Here, we report the simple fabrication of BCP-based photonic nanocomposites with large differences in refractive index (Δn > 0.27). Zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) nanoparticles coated with gallic acid are used to tune the optical constants of the target domains of self-assembled (polynorbornene-graft-poly(tert-butyl acrylate))-block-(polynorbornene-graft-poly(ethylene oxide)) (PtBA-b-PEO) brush block copolymers (BBCPs). Strong hydrogen-bonding interactions between the ligands on ZrO₂ and PEO brushes of the BBCPs enable selective incorporation and high loading of up to 70 wt % (42 vol %) of the ZrO₂ nanoparticles within the PEO domain, resulting in a significant increase of refractive index from 1.45 to up to 1.70. Consequently, greatly enhanced reflection at approximately 398 nm (increases of ～250%) was observed for the photonic nanocomposites (domain spacing = 137 nm) relative to that of the unmodified BBCPs, which is consistent with numeric modeling results using transfer matrix methods. This work provides a simple strategy for a wide range tuning of optical constants of BCP domains, thereby enabling the design and creation of high-performance photonic coatings for various applications. The large refractive index contrast enables high reflectivity while simultaneously reducing the coating thickness necessary, compared to pure BCP systems.