Phase behavior of hybrid dendron-linear copolymers and blends with linear homopolymer

The phase behavior of novel hybrid diblock copolymers composed of poly(benzyl ether) dendrons of various generations grafted to deuterated polystyrene tails of varying molecular weights are examined by small angle neutron scattering. Blends of these hybrid copolymers with linear polystyrene of two molecular weights are shown to exhibit dissolution, microphase separation and microphase & mesophase separation depending on the relative molecular weights of the dendrons, tails, and matrix homopolymer. The results suggests that there is a strong entropic penalty against mixing polymers of dendritic architecture with linear chains, and that this driving force can be harnessed to create unique, nanostructured polymer materials. (C) 2003 Academie des sciences. Published by Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.