MICRODOMAIN MORPHOLOGY ANALYSIS OF BLOCK-COPOLYMERS BY ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY WITH PHASE DETECTION IMAGING

We use atomic force microscopy (AFM) with phase detection imaging (PDI ) in order to study the surface microdomain morphology of thick (i.e., ca. 2 mm) films of triblock copolymers. We present here the results o btained on a poly(methyl ethacrylate)-block-polybutadiene-block-poly(m ethyl methacrylate) (PMMA-b-PBD-b-PMMA) copolymer prepared by using a 1,3-diisopropenylbenzene (DIB)-based difunctional anionic initiator. O ur data illustrate the interest of PDI for the elucidation of surface phase separation in block copolymers. We show that the surface of thic k films studied by this new technique exhibits a two-phase structure c orresponding to the two types of components.