Self-Assembly of a Triblock Copolymer in the Presence\nof a Rigid Conjugated Polyelectrolyte

The properties of conducting polymers\nare strongly influenced by\nstructural changes induced by long-range order, which can be achieved\nby using block copolymers that self-assemble into crystalline structures.\nThese blends result in unique mesophases distinct from the pure components\nwith self-assembly behavior modulated by solution conditions and polymer\narchitectures. High-throughput small-angle X-ray scattering data of\naqueous Pluronic P123 (PEO<sub>20</sub>–PPO<sub>70</sub>–PEO<sub>20</sub>) and conjugated polyelectrolyte poly[3-(potassium-4-butanoate)\nthiophene-2,5-diyl] (PPBT) blends at various concentrations and temperatures\nwere automatically classified into phase maps by autophasemap, an\nunsupervised statistical analysis algorithm. The outlined phase boundaries\nrevealed that adding PPBT to high P123 concentrations induced a transition\nfrom cubicly ordered spherical micelles to hexagonally packed cylindrical\nmicelles. Shear alignment via rheological small-angle neutron scattering\nof the blends produced monolithic oriented cubic and hexagonal crystal\ngels. These insights into the self-assembly of conductive polymer\nblends will aid in the design of soft materials with tunable structural\nand electronic properties.