Solid-state multipulse proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) characterization of self-assembling polymer films

Multipulse solid-state proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) has been used to study the domain structure in poly(styrene-b-isoprene-b-styrene) triblock copolymers in clear and self-assembled polymer films. Films containing ordered arrays of microcavities (3-5 μm) were obtained by casting the polymer from carbon disulfide solution in a moist environment, while clear films were obtained by solvent evaporation under nitrogen. The domain sizes for the polystyrene and polyisoprene blocks were measured by proton spin diffusion using the dipolar filter pulse sequence. The domain sizes for the dispersed phase and the long period were measured to be in the range of 3-6 nm, depending on the polymer molecular weight, and no differences domain size were observed for the clear and the self-assembled polymer films.