Morphologies of AB diblock copolymer melts confined in nanocylindrical tubes

Monte Carlo simulations have been employed to identify the morphologies of symmetrical AB diblock copolymer melts under the confinement of nanocylindrical tubes. The effects of (i) the incommensurability between the diameter of the tube and the lamellae period in the bulk and (ii) the preference of the tube surface for one of the segments have been investigated. Lamellae normal to the tube axis and circular lamellae have been observed under the conditions investigated, in agreement with experiment and density functional calculations. Furthermore, porous lamellar (mesh) morphologies, lamellae parallel to the tube axis as well as single and double helixes have been identified.