Supracolloidal chains consisting of nano- or micro-scale particles exhibit anisotropic properties not observed in individual particles. The orientation of the chains is necessary to manifest such characteristics on a macroscopic scale. In this study, we demonstrate the orientation of supracolloidal chains composed of nano-scale micelles of a diblock copolymer through spin-coating. We observed separate chains coated on a substrate with electron microscopy, and analyzed the orientation and stretching of the chains quantitatively with image analysis software. In drop-casting, the chains were coated randomly with no preferred orientation, and the degree of stretching exhibited an intrinsic semi-flexible nature. In contrast, spin-coated chains were aligned in the radial direction, and the apparent persistence length of the chain increased, confirming the stretching of the chain quantitatively. Furthermore, by incorporating fluorophores into supracolloidal chains and confirming the oriented chains with confocal fluorescence microscopy, it is demonstrated that oriented chains can be utilized as a template to align functional materials.

中文翻译：

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旋涂法二嵌段共聚物胶束超胶体链的取向和拉伸

由纳米或微米级颗粒组成的超胶体链表现出在单个颗粒中未观察到的各向异性特性。为了在宏观尺度上体现这些特征，链的方向是必要的。在这项研究中，我们通过旋涂展示了由二嵌段共聚物纳米级胶束组成的超胶体链的取向。我们用电子显微镜观察了涂覆在基底上的单独的链，并用图像分析软件定量分析了链的方向和拉伸。在滴铸过程中，链条被随机涂覆，没有优先取向，拉伸程度表现出固有的半柔性性质。相比之下，旋涂链沿径向排列，并且链的表观持久长度增加，定量地证实了链的拉伸。此外，通过将荧光团掺入超胶体链并用共焦荧光显微镜确认定向链，证明定向链可以用作对齐功能材料的模板。