Block copolymers with surface-active junction groups, compositions and processes thereof

A block copolymer with a junction group having structure (1),

• wherein,
• A is a block polymer chain,
• B is a block polymer chain,
• wherein A and B are chemically different covalently connected polymer chains which are phase separable;
• moiety X(Y(Z)b)a is a junction group which comprises a surface active pendant moiety Y(Z)b, wherein:
• a is an integer from 1 to 4, b is an integer from 1 to 5;
• X is a linking group between the A polymer block, the B polymer block and the moiety Y, wherein X is selected from the group consisting of a C5-C30oxyalkyleneoxycarbonylalkylene moiety, a C2-C30 alkyleneoxyalkylene moiety, an aryl substituted C8-C42 alkyleneoxy moiety, an aryl substituted C8-C42alkyleneoxyalkylene moiety, a C8-C42 aryl substituted alkylene moiety, or a C7-C30alkylenearylene moiety;
• Y is a linking group or a direct valence bond between X and Z, and Y is selected from the group consisting of a direct valence bond, oxy (—O—), carbonyl (—C(═O)—), carbonyloxy (—C(═O)—O—), oxycarbonyl (—O—C(═O)—), carbonate (—O—C(═O)—O—), carbonyloxyakylene (—C(═O)—O—akylene-), a C1-C20 carbonyloxyfluoroakylene (—C(═O)—O—fluoroakylene-), alkylene-fluoroalkylene, a C6-C20 arylene, a C6-C20oxyarylene, a C7-C20 alkylenearylene, a C1-C20 linear alkylene, a C3-C20 branched alkylene, a C6-C20 cyclic alkylene, a C1-C20 linear fluoroalkylene, a C3-C20branched fluoroalkylene, and a C6-C20 cyclic fluoroalkylene;
• and
• Z is a moiety independently selected from the group consisting of a fluorine group, a linear hydrocarbon group containing fluorine, a fluorine containing branched hydrocarbon group, a fluorine containing cyclic hydrocarbon group, a fluorine containing linear alkyl ether group, a fluorine containing branched alkyl ether group, a fluorine containing cyclic alkyl ether group and a mixture thereof, and further wherein the junction group X(Y(Z)b)a has a surface energy less than that of block A and less than that of the block B.