- Author
-
Sung, L. P.
|
Douglas, J. F.
|
Han, C. C.
|
Karim, A.
- Title
- Suppression of Phase Separation Pattern Formation in Blend Films With Block Copolymer Compatibilizer.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Journal
-
Journal of Polymer Science: Part B: Polymer Physics,
Vol. 41,
No. 14,
1697-1700,
July 15, 2003
- Keywords
-
copolymers
|
thin film
|
polymer blend
|
phase separation
|
surfactant
|
surface pattern formation
|
block copolymer
|
Marangoni pattern
- Abstract
- The structure of thin films is sensitive to surface-tension variations that can cause the free surface of films to buckle.14 Many different types of film perturbations cause surface-tension variations and thus film-surface pattern formation. Recent studies2,3 have shown that phase separation within very thin polymer blend films leads to a range of surface patterns (bumps, holes, and labyrinthine ridges and valleys) that depend on the polymer composition. These patterns disappear when the films are returned into the one-phase region of the fluid mixture, verifying their phase-separation origin. 2,3 Although in some situations the surface patterns are beneficial, the surface patterns can sometimes compromise film-barrier properties or create other undesirable changes in polymer-coating properties (optical appearance, friction, tendency to attract impurities from the atmosphere, etc.). This technological problem led us to seek methods of inhibiting surface-pattern formation in thin-blend films.