Morphological-evolution pathway during phase separation in polymer solutions with highly asymmetrical miscibility gap

Gang Zhang, Tao Yang, Sen Yang, and Yunzhi Wang
Phys. Rev. E 96, 032501 – Published 11 September 2017

Abstract

Microstructural evolution during thermally induced phase separation in a polymer solution with a highly asymmetrical miscibility gap is analyzed using Flory-Huggins thermodynamics and nonlinear Cahn-Hilliard kinetics. Computer simulation results demonstrate that, in contrast to systems with symmetric miscibility gaps, interesting morphological-evolution pathways (MEPs) including cluster-to-percolation and percolation-to-cluster transitions are identified. These MEPs are rationalized according to asynchronous evolution of the two product phases. For a highly asymmetric polymer system, the initial solution composition is also found to play a critical role in determining the MEPs. According to the simulation results a map of MEPs in terms of initial solution composition and aging time of phase separation is established to guide future microstructural design in asymmetrical polymer solutions.

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  • Received 2 July 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.96.032501

©2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Polymers & Soft Matter

Authors & Affiliations

Gang Zhang1, Tao Yang1,*, Sen Yang1, and Yunzhi Wang1,2,*

  • 1Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, MOE Key Laboratory for Nonequilibrium Synthesis and Modulation of Condensed Matter, State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
  • 2Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA

  • *Corresponding authors: yangtao67@huawei.com; wang.363@osu.edu

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Vol. 96, Iss. 3 — September 2017

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