Effect of channel diameter and homopolymer content on ionic transport properties of the confined Self-Assembled polymers in anodic aluminum oxide template

Highlights: • The channel diameter plays an important role in the ion transport properties. • The weight ratio of hPS plays a significant role in the structural transition and the ion transport properties. • Ion transport properties of the self-assembled nanochannels can be precisely regulated by tuning pH. • The self-assembled architectures changed from cylindrical to spherical structures, improving the ion transport performance. Ion transport properties of the self-assembled block copolymer/homopolymer blends in cylindrical anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) nanochannels was reported in this paper. Polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine)/homopolystyrene (PS-b-P4VP/hPS) nanostructures were prepared by self-assembly in AAO membranes with different channel diameters. Ionic transport properties of the self-assembled structures with different PS-b-P4VP/hPS ratios in AAO nanochannels were systematically investigated. The weight ratio of hPS was proven to play a significant role in the structural transition of the assemblies and the ionic transport properties in nanochannels. In addition, the channel diameter of the AAO membranes was also proven to play an important role in the ion transport properties. The proposed system showed high pH-dependent and good stability, and regulation of ion transport inside artificial nanochannels could be achieved by tuning pH values. This work provides valuable information for understanding the mechanism of ion transport for self-assembled polymers in artificial nanochannels and can promote the construction of nanofluidic systems for many applications.