Chiral Self-assemblies of Block Copolymers in Bulk

Chirality plays a significant role not only in various natural substances and biological systems but also as a critical structural feature in synthetic polymers. In polymers, hierarchical chirality encompasses molecular chirality, conformational chirality, and object chirality. The microphase separation of block copolymers offers a pathway for the cross-level transfer and expression of chiral bias. This review provides an overview of recent studies on the chiral self-assembly of block copolymers in bulk. It begins with a brief introduction to the methods used for characterizing chiral structures across different levels. The review then discusses the formation mechanisms, structural characteristics, and potential applications of two types of chiral self-assemblies in block copolymers, i.e., helical phase and chiral double gyroid. Finally, the challenges and open questions in the study of chirality transfer in block copolymers are addressed. [GRAPHICS] .