(366c) Advancing Nanostructures: Computational and Experimental Insights into Block Copolymer Self-Assembly, Micellar Dynamics, and Molecular Chain Orientations

Block copolymers exhibit a diverse array of nanostructures in their molten state or when placed in selective solvents, offering significant potential as carriers for drug delivery, functional nanomaterials, optoelectronic devices, and nanoreactors. My research focuses on creating highly ordered novel structures using a combination of computational and experimental techniques. Computationally, the self-consistent field theory is used to obtain a rich array of self-assembled ordered states of block copolymers under equilibrium. The quest to understand the process of equilibration of microstructures is further supported by experimental studies, presently limited to studying block copolymer micelles. While the number of ordered phases possible for diblock copolymer is limited, a myriad of novel phases can be generated either by altering the architecture of block copolymer or by subjecting the polymer to geometric confinements. The experimental investigations aim to understand how these nanostructures achieve equilibrium in solvents. Spherical micelles primarily achieve equilibrium through mechanisms such as fusion, fragmentation, and chain exchange. Of particular interest is studying the kinetics of micellar fragmentation to elucidate the driving forces behind micellar dynamics. This understanding is crucial for tailoring micelles for various biological applications. Additionally, experimental efforts are underway to probe the spatial orientation of polymer chains grafted onto nanoparticle surfaces using polarized resonant soft X-ray scattering (P-RSoXS). This technique holds practical significance in industrial applications, particularly in advancing nanomaterials with customizable properties.

Research Interests: Polymer Nanocomposites, Soft Matter, Polymer Physics, Self-assembly of Block Copolymers (Theory and Experiments), Dynamics of Block Copolymer Micelles, Transport Phenomena in Complex Fluids, Flow Instability, X-Ray Scattering