Non-equilibrium phase behavior of diblock copolymer melts and binary blends in the intermediate segregation regime
✍ Scribed by Paul M. Lipic; Frank S. Bates; Mark W. Matsen
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 274 KB
- Volume
- 37
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0887-6266
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✦ Synopsis
The phase behavior of intermediately segregated (N ϭ 45) poly(ethylene)poly(ethylethylene) (PE-PEE) diblock copolymers and PE-PEE binary blends are characterized using transmission electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering. Surprisingly, the preparation-dependent, nonequilibrium phase behavior can be overwhelming even at this degree of segregation. A pure diblock with a poly(ethylene) volume fraction of f PE ϭ 0.46 exhibited coexisting lamellae and perforated layers when prepared using a precipitation technique, but contained only the lamellar morphology when solvent cast. This preparation dependence was more dramatic in binary diblock copolymer blends with average compositions of ͗f PE ͘ ϭ 0.44, 0.46, and 0.48. Precipitated blends exhibited a microphase separated structure that was disordered and bicontinuous; however, solvent cast samples exhibited either a cylindrical, coexisting cylindrical and lamellar, or lamellar morphology. This nonequilibrium behavior is attributed to the high degree of segregation and the proximity to the cylinder/lamellae phase boundary.