ANALYSIS OF GEOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF TWO-PHASE POLYMER-SOLVENT SYSTEMS DURING THE SEPARATION OF SOLUTIONS ACCORDING TO THE INTENSITY OF THE IMAGE OF MICROGRAPHS

Abstract

This paper discusses the study of the shapes and sizes of polymer droplets formed during the phase separation of their solutions with increasing temperature, as well as the parameters of the transitional layers of polymer condensing on the droplet surface formed during this process. For the study, a copolymer of polyethylene oxide and polypropylene oxide was chosen, whose behavior in aqueous solutions and the change in hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance depends on temperature. It has been established that the application of the method of digital image processing allows the introduction of the quantitative criterion – image intensity of a photo. For a more detailed study of the behavior of polymer molecules at the phase boundary, depending on the temperature, the studies of the temperature-dependent behavior of a number of polymers of different composition and structure have been carried out. The use of the digital image processing method for polymer droplets makes it possible to determine the parameters of droplets and their transition layers, to determine the dynamics of nucleation and droplet growth and density changes in the transition layer by the image intensity parameter. The paper has found out that embryos of pluronic are unevenly distributed by volume of solution with the presence of zones with a maximum number of molecules and a zone with a minimum of assembly of molecules. The practical value of the work is in the fact that the results of the study can be used to assess the dynamics of the separation of polymer solutions without involving the time-consuming and expensive instrumental methods of physical and chemical analysis.