SELF-ASSEMBLY OF BLOCK-COPOLYMERS

In the past year, several theories of anisotropic fluctuations in orde red copolymer phases have been merged with the detailed studies of the se complex phases which have been ongoing since the mid 1990s. Subtle issues have been clarified which related to the stability of the order ed phases and the kinetic pathways between these phases, as well as th ose between ordered and disordered phases. An extension of these activ ities to studies on blends of diblock copolymers and diblock/homopolym ers, both theoretical and experimental, is now beginning to develop.