Dynamical theory of polymer melt morphology
A general kinetic equation of the monomer density variables for polymer blends and block copolymer melts is obtained which describes slow morphology variations. The general theory is applied to a polymer blend adopting the biased reptation model of a polymer chain under mean field. We obtain an equation of motion of interfaces in a phase-separated polymer blend, which contains an interface reaction term for length scales shorter than lc ≡ R2G/ξ, where RG is the gyration radius of a polymer chain and ξ the interfacial width. We also discuss some problems associated with the incompressibility requirement for phase separation kinetics of binary systems not limited to polymers. For length scales greater than lc the interface dynamics involves diffusion in bulk pure phases even in the strong segregation limit in a way different from that for the usual time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation for the conserved order parameter. Implications of the existence of the new term on the late stage phase separation kinetics of polymer blend are discussed.
Year of publication: |
1987
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Authors: | Kawasaki, Kyozi ; Sekimoto, Ken |
Published in: |
Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications. - Elsevier, ISSN 0378-4371. - Vol. 143.1987, 3, p. 349-413
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Publisher: |
Elsevier |
Saved in:
Online Resource
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