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Interface Structure in a Polymer Blend in the Presence of Selective Solvents
Author(s) -
Winnik Mitchell A.,
Pekcan ÖNder,
Disanayaka Bimsara,
Croucher Melvin D.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
israel journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.908
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1869-5868
pISSN - 0021-2148
DOI - 10.1002/ijch.199100013
Subject(s) - chemistry , monomer , copolymer , methyl methacrylate , pyrene , phenanthrene , polymer chemistry , polymerization , polymer , swelling , chemical engineering , dispersion (optics) , phase (matter) , dispersion polymerization , organic chemistry , physics , optics , engineering
Energy transfer experiments were carried out on a material composed of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA, 98.5 monomer mol%) and polyisobutylene (PIB, 1.5 monomer mol%), with PMMA labeled with phenanthrene, the donor, and PIB labeled with pyrene, the acceptor. In this material, prepared by nonaqueous dispersion polymerization, all of the PIB is present as a graft copolymer with PMMA. Here we demonstrate that the extent of energy transfer increases enormously when the particles are dispersed in aliphatic hydrocarbon liquids. These swell the PIB phase leading to formation of a diffuse interface where substantial mixing of the PMMA and PIB components occurs. The amount of energy transfer, and hence the amount of swelling, varies significantly among the various solvents.