Supramolecular Structures of Macromolecules Containing Bipyridine-Copper(I) Complexes as Revealed from Transmission Electron Microscopy Studies

Eisenbach, Claus D.; Göldel, Andreas; Terskan-Reinold, Monika; Schubert, Ulrich S.
Abstract:
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies on bipyridine (bpy) containing block copolymer systems showed the formation of nanoscopic polymerÐion complexes through complexation with copper(I) ions which segregated to highly ordered columnar domains of mesoscopic dimensions. The domains, i.e. stacks of [(bpy)2Cu(I)] complex moieties could be visualized by complementary TEM techniques. First, electron energy loss spectra (EELS) showed the absorption edges of copper and nitrogen, which are speciÞc for the bipyridine copper complexes. The element spectroscopic imaging (ESI) technique allowed the imaging of the net copper and net nitrogen distribution, and the coinciding pictures exhibited a microphase separated system in the case of a 3- block copolymer with complexed end segments. High resolution elastic bright Þeld images showed interference lines with a line to line distance of about 8 A_ which could be related to the CuÐCu distance in staggered Cu(I)Ðbipyridine complexes.
Year:
1998
Type of Publication:
Article
Keywords:
Transmission electron microscopy; supramolecular structures; bipyridine copper I complexes; microphase separation; thermoplastic elastomers
Journal:
Colloid and Polymer Science
Volume:
276
Pages:
780 – 785