Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, Vol.33, No.17, 2351-2357, 1995
Direct Observation of a Diblock Copolymer-Induced Microemulsion at a Polymer/Polymer Interface
We have studied the segregation of a block copolymer of poly(d(8)-styrene-b-2-vinylpyridine) (dPS-PVP) at the interface between polystyrene and a random copolymer of poly(styreneran-4-hydroxystyrene) (PS-r-PPHS). Forward recoil spectrometry (FRES) was used to measure the equilibrium excess (z*) of the dPS-PVP chains at the interface as a function of its volume fraction in the bulk PS phase (phi(infinity)). It was found that there is a sharp increase in z* at a critical value of phi(infinity). This upturn indicates the formation of a microemulsion of PS and the random copolymer PS-r-PPHS due to a vanishing of the interfacial tension caused by the strong adsorption of the block copolymer. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the interface shows that this microemulsion starts to form at the interface by forming a deeply corrugated structure where the "wavelength" of the corrugations is of the order of 50 nm.
Keywords:PS-PMMA COPOLYMER;BLOCK-COPOLYMERS;IMMISCIBLE POLYMERS;MOLECULAR-WEIGHT;ADHESION;SEGREGATION;BLEND