Study of Pattern Formation Dynamics in a Polymer Mixture Undergoing Phase Separation by Digital Image Analysis

Abstract

We have applied a digital image analysis (DIA) method to the study of the coarse-graining process1 at the late stage of phase separation in polymer mixtures2–9. At the late stage, the sharp interface between two phases is formed and the motion of the interface is important. The conventional scattering technique is not suitable for analyzing the phase-separated pattern at the late stage since the scattering measurement in a low k range is difficult because of the effect of a direct beam. Only the real-space operations in DIA make it possible to extract the geometrical characteristics from the pattern. We will discuss the characteristics of pattern formation at the late stage of phase separation in polymer mixtures.KeywordsLower Critical Solution TemperatureMethyl EtherSharp InterfaceDigital Image AnalysisPolymer MixtureThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.