Phase Behavior of Diblock Copolymer–Homopolymer Ternary Blends with a Compositionally Asymmetric Diblock Copolymer

Zhang, Bo; Xie, Shuyi; Lodge, Timothy P.; Bates, Frank S.

doi:10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01745

Phase Behavior of Diblock Copolymer–Homopolymer Ternary Blends with a Compositionally Asymmetric Diblock Copolymer

Journal Article · Tue Dec 29 00:00:00 EST 2020 · Macromolecules

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01745· OSTI ID:1831775

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Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States); University of Minnesota
Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

The phase behavior of ternary polymer blends comprising poly(cyclohexylethylene) (C) and polyethylene (E) homopolymers and a compositionally asymmetric CE diblock copolymer with f_C = 0.67 was investigated, where f_C is the volume fraction of C. Morphology was established in the phase prism (volume fractions of C, E, and CE vs. temperature) by optical transmission, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements. The locations of lamellar (LAM), hexagonally packed cylinders (HEX), and gyroid (GYR) ordered phases are shifted significantly towards lower fractions of C homopolymer compared to previous results obtained from ternary polymer blends with a symmetric diblock copolymer (f_C = 0.5). Conversely, the Scott line of critical points, which delineates the boundary between single-phase disorder and macroscopic phase separation, remains virtually unchanged, coincident with the fraction of C homopolymer associated with the binary homopolymer blend critical composition. A central finding of this study is that the line of nearly congruent order-disorder transitions, where the LAM phase melts virtually directly into the disordered state, is decoupled in composition from that of the Scott line of critical points. A wide range of phase space between the compositions associated with the congruent transition and Scott line was identified as containing a microemulsion morphology. This study demonstrates that diblock copolymer compositional asymmetry significantly impacts the ordered phase regime but has a marginal effect on the region displaying macroscopic phase separation. It also provides useful guidance for tuning interfacial curvature, a crucial factor in the formation of bicontinuous microemulsions (BµEs).

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357; SC0017809

OSTI ID:: 1831775

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1761436
OSTI ID: 1763131

Journal Information:: Macromolecules, Journal Name: Macromolecules Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 54; ISSN 0024-9297

Publisher:: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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