Polymer Blend ―Polymerization-induced Phase Separation―

Phase-Separation-Induced Surface Patterns in Thin Polymer Blend Films

Atomic force microscopy (AFM), neutron reflection (NR) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) are used to examine phase separation in symmetrically segregating thin polymer blend films (e1000 Å). Phase separation in the film leads to undulations of the liquid-air interface, provided the film is sufficiently thin to suppress surface-directed spinodal decomposition waves. Flattened droplets a...

Polymerization-induced phase separation in a liquid-crystal-polymer mixture.

Phase separation of ultrathin polymer-blend films on patterned substrates

The phase separation of ultrathin polymer-blend films of polystyrene and polybutadiene on microcontact printed alkanethiol patterns with hydrophobic and hydrophilic end groups (2CH3 and 2COOH! is investigated by atomic force microscopy. Simulations suggest that the phase-separation morphology can be controlled through patterns that modulate the polymer-surface interaction, and this concept is v...

Phase separation induced by ladder-like polymer-polymer complexation.

Polymer-polymer complexation in solvent is studied using an extension of the self-consistent field theory. The model polymers are capable of forming ladder-like duplex structures. The duplex formation occurs with an abrupt change of entropy, resulting in a first-order transition. Moreover, the complexation can be stabilized by solvent-polymer interactions, instead of the usual specific binding ...

Self-Consistent Model of Polymerization-Induced Phase Separation

We propose an exactly solvable self-consistent kinetic model of polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS) via spinodal decomposition. Using modified Cahn-Hilliard and Glotzer-Coniglio theories for early and late stages of spinodal decomposition, we find scaling regimes and compare the obtained results with existing experimental and theoretical information on PIPS kinetics, finding a qualit...