Crystallization of polymer chains confined in nanodomains

Recent experimental studies are extensively reviewed on the crystallization of polymer chains spati H-125 H-125ally confed in small domains with their dimension on the order of 10 nm (nanodomains), with a particular emphasis on unique features of crystallization behavior and crystal orientation of confined chains. The nanodomains employed here (such as nanospheres, nanocylinders, or nanolamellae) are mainly provided by the microphase separation of diblock copolymers, and therefore we introduce the crystallization of block chains (i.e., polymer chains with one of chain-ends always tethered at nanodomain interfaces). The crystallization of confined blocks is very complicated and hence interesting as compared with that of bulk homopolymers, because it depends significantly on the shape, size, and hardness of nanodomains as well as the crystalline nature of block chains. Furthermore, we discuss a substantial difference in the crystallization behavior and crystal orientation between block chains and homopolymers (i.e., polymer chains with both chain-ends free) spatially confined in identical nanodomains.