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Published on: June 20, 2019
Change in interfacial properties of the blends of linear homopolymers by adding a gradient copolymer with ring
1Department of Polymer Science and Engineering and Center for Photofunctional Energy Materials, Dankook University , 152 Jukjeon-ro, Suji-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do 448-701, South Korea.
Abstract:
The change in interfacial properties of the blends of immiscible linear A and B homopolymers by the addition of A-B ring gradient copolymers is investigated through a self-consistent field theory. The length of the composition gradient along copolymer chain contours is signified by a gradient number λ spanning 0 to 1. It is shown that the ternary blends with the ring copolymers are affected by screening unfavorable A/B contacts, the doubling-back of copolymer conformations, and the solubility of copolymers in homopolymer-rich phases. Upon the interplay of these effects, interfacial tension and thickness along with the surface adsorption of the copolymer chains in the blends yield mostly a monotonic dependence on λ with some peculiar λ regions, where the former two properties reveal a reverse trend. Discrepancies in such interfacial properties between the blends with the ring copolymers and with the corresponding linear copolymers are attributed again to the action of those determining effects.
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