Issue 16, 2017

A multi-fluid model for microstructure formation in polymer membranes

Abstract

We develop a multi-fluid model for a ternary polymer solution using the Rayleighian formalism of Doi and Onuki, and give an efficient pseudo-spectral method for solving both the diffusion and momentum equations that result. Subsequently, we find that the numerical simulation is capable of describing systems at the micron length-scale and easily reaches millisecond time-scales. In addition, we characterize the model thermodynamics and kinetics including the (i) phase behavior, (ii) structure of the interfaces, (iii) mutual diffusion coefficients, (iv) bulk spinodal decomposition kinetics with and without hydrodynamics and (v) spinodal decomposition in the presence of an interface with a non-solvent bath. We obtain good qualitative agreement with the expected thermodynamic and kinetic behavior. We also show that a linear stability analysis of the diffusion equation quantitatively predicts the fastest growing mode obtained from simulation and gives insight into the phase separation process relevant for the evolution of microstructure in phase-separating ternary polymer solutions.

Graphical abstract: A multi-fluid model for microstructure formation in polymer membranes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Dec 2016
Accepted
22 Mar 2017
First published
23 Mar 2017

Soft Matter, 2017,13, 3013-3030

A multi-fluid model for microstructure formation in polymer membranes

D. R. Tree, K. T. Delaney, H. D. Ceniceros, T. Iwama and G. H. Fredrickson, Soft Matter, 2017, 13, 3013 DOI: 10.1039/C6SM02839J

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