Microphase separation in thin films of poly(styrene-block-4-vinylpyridine) copolymer-2-(4′-hydroxybenzeneazo)benzoic acid assembly

The fine structure of thin films of poly(styrene-block-4-vinylpyridine) copolymer-2-(4'hydroxybenzeneazo)benzoic acid (PS-PVP+HABA) assembly has been studied using the combination of atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry, X-ray reflectivity, GISAXS, XPS, and XPEEM. The films consist of cylindrical nanodomains formed by PVP+HABA associates surrounded by PS matrix. Alignment of the domains can be switched upon exposure to vapors of different solvents from the parallel to perpendicular orientation and vice versa with respect to the surface plane. Swelling in 1,4-dioxane leads the system from the cylindrical to the spherical morphology. Solvent evaporation results in a shrinkage of the matrix in the vertical direction and subsequent merging of the spheres into the perpendicularly aligned cylinders. The cylinders form a regular hexagonal lattice with a spatial period of 25.5 nm. On the other hand, vapors of chloroform induce in-plane alignment. The films consist of parallel layers of the cylinders separated by PS matrix and demonstrate the fingerprint-like structure. The nanocylinders of PVP+HABA are packed into a distorted hexagonal lattice exhibiting 31 nm in plane and 17 nm vertical periodicity. In both cases a thin wetting layer is found at the polymer- substrate interface. The free surface is enriched with PS.