Block Copolymer Double Diamond Twin

TL;DR

This study investigates twin boundaries in a self-assembled block copolymer with a double diamond structure, revealing detailed geometric and structural transformations that demonstrate the hierarchical and malleable nature of soft matter assemblies.

Contribution

It provides a detailed structural analysis of twin boundaries in a double diamond block copolymer, highlighting the geometric similarity to atomic diamonds and the complex reorganization of the polymer network.

Findings

Twin boundaries exhibit mirror symmetry with offset networks.

The second network undergoes transformation into pentahedral and trihedral nodes.

The structure demonstrates hierarchical organization and malleability of soft matter.

Abstract

A twin boundary (TB) is a common low energy planar defect in crystals including those with the atomic diamond structure (C, Si, Ge, etc.). We study twins in a self-assembled soft matter block copolymer (BCP) supramolecular crystal having the double diamond (DD) structure, consisting of 2 translationally shifted, interpenetrating diamond networks of the minority polydimethyl siloxane block embedded in a polystyrene block matrix. The coherent, low energy, mirror-symmetric double tubular network twin has one minority block network with its nodes offset from the (222) TB plane while nodes of the second network lie in the plane of the boundary. The offset network, although at a scale about a factor of 103 larger, has precisely the same geometry and symmetry as a (111) twin in atomic single diamond where the tetrahedral units spanning the TB retain nearly the same strut (bond) lengths and strut (bond) angles as in the normal unit cell. In the DD, the second minority block network undergoes a dramatic restructuring - the tetrahedral nodes transform into 2 new types of mirror-symmetric nodes (pentahedral and trihedral) which alternate and link to form a hexagonal mesh in the plane of the TB. The collective re-organization of the supramolecular packing highlights the hierarchical structure of ordered BCP phases and emphasizes the remarkable malleability of soft matter.