Improving polymeric microemulsions with block copolymer polydispersity

Thompson, R. B. and Matsen, M. W. (2000) Improving polymeric microemulsions with block copolymer polydispersity. Physical Review Letters, 85 (3). pp. 670-673. ISSN 0031-9007 doi: 10.1103/physrevlett.85.670

Abstract/Summary

Recent experiments have demonstrated that block copolymers are capable of stabilizing immiscible homopolymer blends producing bicontinuous microemulsion. The stability of these polymeric alloys requires the copolymer to form flexible, nonattractive monolayers along the homopolymer interfaces. We predict that copolymer polydispersity can substantially and simultaneously improve the monolayers in both of these respects. Furthermore, polydispersity should provide similar improvements in systems, such as colloidal suspensions and polymer/clay composites, that utilize polymer brushes to suppress attractive interactions.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/63618
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences
Publisher	American Physical Society
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