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a) b - École Polytechnique de Montréal

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Co-continuous polymer blends are an interesting and challenging research topic that offer<br />

promising opportunities for improving <strong>de</strong>sirable properties. These structures have potential<br />

applications in a wi<strong>de</strong> range of fields(Potschke & Paul, 2003), ranging from improvement of<br />

physical and mechanical properties(Harm Veenstra et al., 2000) to electrical<br />

conductivity(Geuskens, Gielens, Geshef, & Deltour, 1987; Man & Shaw, 2006; Soares et al.,<br />

1995) or selective permeability.<br />

2.4 Self-assembly Processes in Material Science<br />

Self-assembly in the classic sense can be <strong>de</strong>fined as the spontaneous and reversible organization<br />

of molecular units into or<strong>de</strong>red structures by non-covalent interactions. Or more simply, self-<br />

assembly is <strong>de</strong>fined as the science of things that put themselves together. Hosokawa et<br />

al.(Hosokawa, Shimoyama, & Miura, 1996) <strong>de</strong>fined self-assembly as a system in which the<br />

following conditions should be met: 1) some bonding forces should be generated; 2) bonding<br />

should be selected, 3) moving the parts randomly so that they come together by chance.<br />

Campbell et al.(Campbell, Freidinger, Hastings, & Querns, 2002) gave a simpler <strong>de</strong>finition for it<br />

which “refers to aggregating of particles into an organized structure without external assistance.”<br />

The most straightforward <strong>de</strong>finition was offered by Reif et al.(Reif, Sahu, & Yin, 2006) as a<br />

“process in which small objects autonomously associate with each other to form larger<br />

complexes”. Finally the most comprehensive <strong>de</strong>finition was presented by Pelesko as<br />

“spontaneous formation of organized structures through a stochastic process that involves preexisting<br />

components, is reversible, and can be controlled by proper <strong>de</strong>sign of the components,<br />

the environment, and the driving force”.<br />

2.4.1 Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembly Technique<br />

Polymer thin films have a great importance in a wi<strong>de</strong> range of technological applications, such<br />

as <strong>de</strong>vices with tailored mechanical, physical, chemical, optical, electrical properties or<br />

functional coatings. To achieve a well-controlled supramolecular architecture in fabricating<br />

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