Morphology and phase diagram of ABC linear triblock copolymers: parallel real-space self-consistent-field-theory simulation.

Abstract

A parallel algorithm designed for widely used distributed computer clusters is developed for the real-space self-consistent-field theory for polymers. We adopt an efficient data partition method to ensure high performance of this parallel algorithm on clusters, which enables us to explore unknown phase structures of complex block polymers with high accuracy and efficiency. As a benchmark test, the algorithm is applied to an ABC linear triblock copolymer, in which the volume fractions of the two end blocks of the polymer chain are equal (f_(A)=f_(C)) , to simplify the discussion. The three-dimensional microphases and phase diagram of this triblock copolymer are investigated in detail.