Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.137, No.18, 6026-6033, 2015
Multicomponent Nanomaterials with Complex Networked Architectures from Orthogonal Degradation and Binary Metal Backfilling in ABC Triblock Terpolymers
Selective degradation of block copolymer templates and backfilling the open mesopores is an effective strategy for the synthesis of nanostructured hybrid and inorganic materials. Incorporation of more than one type of inorganic material in orthogonal ways enables the synthesis of multicomponent,nanomaterials with complex yet well-controlled architectures; however, developments in this field have been limited by the availability of appropriate orthogonally degradable block copolymers for use as templates. We report the synthesis and Self-assembly into cocontinuous network structures of polyisoprene-block-polystyrene-block-Poly(propylene carbonate) where the polyisoprene and poly(propylene carbonate) blocks' can be orthogonally removed from the polymer film Through sequential block etching and backfilling the resulting mesopores with different metals, we demonstrate first steps toward the preparation of three-component polymer inorganic hybrid materials with two distinct metal networks. Multiblock copolymers in which two blocks can be degraded and backfilled independently-of each other, without interference from the,other, maybe used in a wide range, of applications requiring periodically ordered complex multicomponent nanoarchitectures.