A detailed study of the three-dimensional (3-D) confinement of polystyrene- block -poly(ferrocenylethylmethylsilane) ( PS- b -PFS ) diblock copolymers in silica colloidal crystals and inverse silica colloidal crystals is reported. Inversion of the silica colloidal crystal lattice with PS- b -PFS is confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and optical spectroscopy. Additionally, the modification of the silica surfaces in the inverse colloidal crystals using hydroxy-terminated PS and PFS is established. The 3-D confined morphologies of a lamella-forming and a cylinder-forming PS- b -PFS diblock copolymer are subsequently investigated. The manipulation of the 3-D confined morphology of cylinder-forming PS- b -PFS is demonstrated by deliberate alteration of its wetting interaction with the surface-modified colloidal crystal templates. Unprecedented 3-dimensional block copolymer morphology transitions are elucidated.
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Rider et al. (2008) studied this question.