Emergence of Disordered Hyperuniformity in Melts of Linear Diblock Copolymers

Kurzfassung

Disordered hyperuniform (DHU) systems are recently discovered exotic states of matter, where (normalized) infinite-wavelength density fluctuations are completely suppressed, as in crystals, even though the systems are isotropic and lack a conventional long-range order. Despite recent success, realizing such systems using bottom-up approaches remains challenging. Here, we study the DHU properties of neat melts of linear diblock copolymers by using large-cell self-consistent field theory (SCFT) simulations. We initialize SCFT simulations using a wide variety of disordered point patterns and upon relaxation via a SCFT algorithm obtain a new class of metastable disordered micelle mesophases that are hyperuniform. The final relaxed structures are independent of the specific type of initial disorder used to seed the SCFT simulations, but simulations initialized using point patterns that correspond to the local energy minimum of the so-called Quantizer energy, a geometric functional related to the free energy of copolymeric self-assemblies, possess the fastest convergence. Moreover, we find that DHU micelle mesophases possess free energies very similar to those of the thermodynamically stable body-centered cubic sphere mesophases and are also more favorable energetically than previously obtained liquid-like packings. Our findings shed light on the design of novel disordered hyperuniform materials using bottom-up approaches and suggest new possibilities for technological applications such as novel noniridescent structural colors.