The sequence effect on ordering mechanism of linear ABC triblock copolymers has been investigated by using dynamic density functional theory. By systematically varying the composition, triangle phase diagrams were constructed for the ABC and BAC triblock copolymers. It was found that in addition to the composition and the interaction energies, the block sequence also affected the ordering mechanism of the triblock copolymers. Furthermore, the symmetry of the triangle phase diagram was broken when the sequence of triblock copolymer was varied from ABC to BAC.

Key words: linear triblock copolymer, mechanism of microphase separation, dynamic density functional theory