Surface-field-induced effects on morphologies of lamella-forming diblock copolymers in nanorod arrays

The surface-induced effect on the morphologies of lamella-forming diblock copolymers in nanorod arrays is studied by using the self-consistent field theory. In the simulation study, a rich variety of novel morphologies are observed by variations in the strength of the surface field for the diblock copolymers. Different surface-field-induced effects are examined for the diblock copolymers in the arrays with distinct preferential surfaces. It is observed that the majority-block preferential surfaces have more obvious induced effects than those of minority-block preferential surfaces. The strong surface fields exhibit different behaviours from those observed in the weak surface fields, by which the morphologies possess cylindrical symmetries. Results from this research deepen the knowledge of surface-induced effects in a confinement system, which may aid the fabrication of polymer-based nanomaterials.