Order to disorder transition of comb copolymer Am+1Bm: a self-consistent field study

The order to disorder transition of comb copolymers Am+1Bm is investigated by the self-consistent field theory. Although there are only two components in a molecule, the side chain number m affects the phase diagram largely due to the fact that the architecture of a comb copolymer is not invariant under the interchange of A- with B-monomers. With the increase of the side chain number, the interaction (Flory–Huggins) parameter of the order-to-disorder transition (ODT) increases at the same composition and the lowest ODT occurs at the smaller volume fraction of the main chain fA. The influences of the side chain density and the side chain length on the phase behavior were discussed in detail. The relation χ N ODT ∝ f A α exists with the fixed main chain length. The comb copolymer with the large side chain number m and the long main chain sections (or short side chain) is more stable. The results are helpful to design nano- or bio-materials with complex architecture or tailor the phase behavior of comb copolymers.