Polystyrene (PS)-b-polylactide (PLA) diblock copolymers with different molecular weights and fractions were synthesized through a combination of living anionic polymerization and controlled ring-opening polymerization. Then, the PS–PLA films were guided to phase-separate by self-assembly into different morphologies through casting solvent selection, solvent evaporation, and thermal and solvent-field regulation. Finally, perpendicularly oriented PS–PLA films were used as precursors for PS membranes with an ordered periodic nanoporous structure; this was achieved by the selective etching of the segregated PLA domains dispersed in a continuous matrix of PS. Testing techniques, including IR, ¹H-NMR, gel permeation chromatography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), were used to determine the chemical structure of the PS–PLA copolymer and its film morphology. AFM images of the self-assembled PS-PLA films indicate that vertical tapers of the PLA domains were generated among PS continuum when either toluene or tetrahydrofuran was used as the annealing solvent. The SEM images certified that the chemical etching of the PLA component from the self-assembled PS–PLA films led to a long-range-ordered array of hexagonally packed nanoporous membranes with a diameter about 500 nm and a center-to-center distance of 1700 nm. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 39638.

This article reports the cointercalation of acrylic acid (AA) and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) in the interlayer region of Mg₂Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) and the application of this inorganic–organic composite material in the field of water superabsorbent. The monomers of AA and AMPS were cointercalated into galleries of Mg₂Al−LDH (denoted as AA−AMPS/LDH) with various molar ratios by ion-exchange method, which was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and elemental analysis. The polymer-based superabsorbent was prepared through in situ free-radical aqueous copolymerization of AA and AMPS, with AA−AMPS/LDH as additive, N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide (NMBA) as crosslinker and potassium persulfate (KPS) as initiator. The composition of this poly(AA-co-AMPS)/LDH was demonstrated as a good water superabsorbent. The LDH content, water absorbency, thermal stability, and swelling rate of this superabsorbent were also investigated in detail. Results showed that the incorporation of a 5 wt % AA−AMPS/LDH into polymer matrix increased its water absorbency significantly by 27.7% (in water) and by 51.5% (in 0.9 wt % NaCl solution). © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011