Issue 15, 2010

Wetting induced instabilities in miscible polymer blends

Abstract

The behaviour of miscible blends of polystyrene (PS)/poly(vinyl methyl ether)(PVME) of varying compositions has been investigated at temperatures where PS and PVME are miscible. The PVME is seen to enrich the polymer–air surface, forming a layer with a width that is comparable to the correlation length. Further heating close to the demixing temperature results in the formation of a capillary instabilities at the polymer surface exhibiting a spinodal-like pattern with a characteristic wavelength that depends on the blend composition. Formation of these instabilities is seen for all blend compositions. We propose that these wetting induced instabilities result from coupled height and composition fluctuations in the PVME enriched surface layer, driving the build-up of long wavelength fluctuations.

Graphical abstract: Wetting induced instabilities in miscible polymer blends

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 Mar 2010
Accepted
09 Apr 2010
First published
28 May 2010

Soft Matter, 2010,6, 3517-3523

Wetting induced instabilities in miscible polymer blends

K. R. Thomas, N. Clarke, R. Poetes, M. Morariu and U. Steiner, Soft Matter, 2010, 6, 3517 DOI: 10.1039/C0SM00046A

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