Qualitative features of polymer demixtion

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Abstract
We consider three types of critical points associated with the segregation of long, flexible, polymer chains : 1) one polymer + poor solvent, 2) two molten polymer species without solvent, 3) two dilute polymer species in a good solvent. For all these cases the Flory Huggins theory (or its extensions) would lead to a classical (mean field) type of critical behaviour. We analyse the critical singularities more closely using a Ginsburg criterion, and conclude that in cases (1) and (3) the critical exponents are not classical. But in case (2), the Flory Huggins theory should apply, except for a minute temperature interval Δ T* near the critical point Tc [ΔT* ∼ Tc N-ϕ, where N is the polymerization index, and ϕ is a crossover exponent which we calculate for various situations]

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