Pohang University of Science and Technology · Engineering
Professor Hyungju Ahn's research lab specializes in the design and fabrication of block copolymer-based nanostructured materials, with a focus on self-assembly phenomena, nanoporous membrane development, and advanced characterization techniques. The lab investigates the phase behavior and microphase separation of PS-b-PMMA copolymers to create highly ordered, tunable nanoporous architectures for applications in ultrafiltration and selective separation. Using techniques such as small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS), the lab explores the thermodynamic and kinetic factors governing nanostructure formation, particularly the order–disorder transition in block copolymers. Their work bridges fundamental polymer physics with practical nanomaterial applications in environmental and biomedical technologies.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Nanoporous structures were obtained by the self-assembly of polystyrene-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) block copolymers (BCP) where, in thick films, cylindrical microdomains were oriented normal to the substrate and air interfaces, and in the interior of the films, the microdomains were randomly oriented. Continuous nanopores that penetrated through the film were readily produced by a simple preferential swelling of the PMMA microdomains. The confined swelling and rapid contraction of P
The phase behavior of polystyrene-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) copolymers of various molecular weights has been studied by using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and depolarized light scattering (DLS). The empirical Flory χ, determined from scattering intensity profiles for a fully disordered PS-b-PMMA copolymer, was shown to behave differently depending on temperature range. χ was described mostly by enthalpic contribution at higher temperatures, but a dominant entropic contributi
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