On the compatibilization of polymer blends

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
By means of statistical thermodynamics we consider the effect of a diblock copolymer on the interface of a demixed homopolymer blend. In contrast to the usual case where the blocks are identical with the components of the homopolymers, we investigate the use of arbitrary blocks XY respective to the A‐B blend. As examples, we calculate interfacial properties such as the interfacial tension and the width of the interface as well as the concentration profiles of the blocks. We expect a strong compatibilization effect if the blocks are sufficiently long and have a preferential repulsive interaction with one of the two homopolymers.