Hierarchical nanostructure control in rod-coil block copolymers with magnetic fields

Magnetic field alignment of rod-coil block copolymers is shown to proceed through coupling to the diamagnetic moment of individual rod blocks. Block copolymer self-assembly then leads to alignment of the interfaces perpendicular to the field lines and long range order on a 10 nm lengthscale. This is in contrast to previously demonstrated alignment techniques, which couple to the block copolymer interfaces rather than individual molecules. Furthermore, alignment occurs without direct physical contact to samples millimeters in size.