Abstract
The phase behavior of crosslinked polymer networks and solvents with and without nematic order is investigated. The Flory-Huggins interaction parameter χ is assumed to be function of temperature and polymer volume fraction. Effects of these variations on the miscibility of networks and low molecular weight solvents are discussed. Under certain conditions, equilibrium between collapsed and swollen networks is observed. This behavior was not observed in previous studies where χ was assumed independent of polymer volume fraction. If the low molecular weight component is a liquid crystal (LC), below the nematic-isotropic transition temperature nematic order induces a drastic loss of miscibility in the dilute polymer range. If the nematogens are attached to the polymer network as side chain LC groups, the loss of miscibility is even larger but localized in the dense polymer region. The phase diagram in the whole range of composition is discussed.
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