Entropy driven assembly in multicomponent nanocomposite*

Hierarchically structured nanocomposites show unique collective properties from nanoparticle (NP) assemblies. Successfully structure control in nanocomposite remains as bottleneck to advance the field. Block copolymer (BCP) and supramolecular systems have been effective in achieving nanoscopic dispersion of fillers. However, NPs with size larger than 30% of the BCP specific domain size tend to aggregation due to the large conformational entropy penalty. This limitation in the particle size restricts the NP incorporation for targeted functionality. Here, we will discuss a new approach to modulate thermodynamic contribution from various components with a special focus of maximizing translational entropy. The present studies suggested that manipulating entropic contribution in multiple components system will lead to new path and opportunity toward structure control and access functionality.