Fig. 4

SCFT simulations showing the evolution of the polymer self-assembled pattern. a Early stages of the simulation show a wetting layer is formed of the inner and outer surface of the walls while the polymer is still disordered in the region surrounding the template. A junction is formed at every opening in the template wall, connecting the inner and outer wetting layers. b An ordering front is propagating away from the walls creating a series of concentric squares. Polymer microdomains are nucleated adjacent to the bends in the inner wetting layer caused by the opening in the walls. c Bridging of the polymer domains creates a horizontal stripe between the two openings. d Final polymer self-assembled pattern reaches 0 state as shown experimentally