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Morphology of block copolymers and associated networks
Author(s) -
Jones Jennifer J.,
Burford Robert P.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/pi.4990260308
Subject(s) - copolymer , materials science , polybutadiene , morphology (biology) , polystyrene , styrene , polymer chemistry , osmium tetroxide , polymer , polymerization , chemical engineering , composite material , electron microscope , physics , biology , optics , genetics , engineering
Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) of styrene‐butadiene‐styrene (SBS) block copolymers and polystyrene (PS) were prepared by sequential polymerisation. TEM micrographs of both the constituent block copolymers and their IPNs were obtained after staining with osmium tetroxide. It was found that images obtained after cryo‐ultramicrotoming of bulk samples were a more legitimate representation of block copolymer morphology than those obtained from solvent‐cast samples. Micrographs of both semi‐IPNs and true‐IPNs and bulk block copolymer reveal distinct microphase separation. An anisotropic domain morphology is found, with polybutadiene (PBD) being the continuous phase containing PS‐rich domains. Domain dimensions change with cross‐linking and block copolymer type. Image analysis and small angle X‐ray data were obtained to provide further quantitative information.