POS1-0512
Enhancing the Thermal Stability of Directed Self-Assembly through Dehalogenation of Bottlebrush Block Copolymers
When and Where
Nov 30, -0001
12:00am - 12:00am
Presenter(s)
Jaewon Jeong (Korea University)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Bottlebrush block copolymers (BBCPs) have emerged as promising materials for advanced nanopatterning owing to their unique molecular architecture and enhanced physical properties compared to conventional linear block copolymers. However, thermally induced side reactions originating from terminal bromine groups can compromise the structural integrity of BBCPs during thermal annealing, leading to defect formation and reduced pattern quality. In this study, terminal bromine groups were removed through a dehalogenation process to improve the thermal stability of BBCPs. The dehalogenated BBCPs maintained their molecular characteristics while exhibiting significantly enhanced resistance to thermal degradation during annealing. As a result, highly ordered nanostructures were successfully generated by thermal annealing alone, as confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Furthermore, the improved thermal robustness enabled reliable directed self-assembly (DSA), facilitating both the formation of well-aligned nanopatterns and the mitigation of defects within pre-patterned templates. These findings establish dehalogenation as an effective strategy for realizing thermally stable BBCP systems for next-generation DSA applications.
