Dewetting of Polymer Blends and Formation of Phase-Separated Polymer Domes

Abstract

Phase-separated polymer droplets with micron-size diameter and nanometer-size height were prepared by casting a dilute solution of two polymers, polystyrene and poly(methylmethacrylate). Staining with an electron acceptor allowed us to distinguish between the two polymers by fluorescence microscopy.

Patterned Deposition of PS Gel is Controlled by Chitosan or Acetic Acid Additives

“…The polymer phases were identified by an added fluorescent dye, 1,4-Bis(dicyanomethylene)cyclohexadiene(TCNQ, TCI). This dye shows green fluorescence in the presence of PMMA and red fluorescence in the presence of PS [10].…”

Pollen-Mimetic Multiphase Polymer Microparticles

“…It is a very common phenomenon that polymers that are cast from a common solvent tend to demix upon solvent removal [14]. This phenomenon has been investigated in continuous thin films [15] as well as in small droplets of dewetted polymers on a solid substrate [16]. Phase separated polymer structures also have been produced by emulsion polymerization [17] or by the SORP method [18].…”

Preparation and Structural Investigation of PMMA-Polystyrene ‘Janus Beads’ by Rapid Evaporation of an Ethyl Acetate Aqueous Emulsion

“…Even though PS and PMMA have different refractive indices, and Janus beads can be imaged by means of optical microscopy, the optical contrast is limited. We have already reported on the doping of PS/PMMA blends with the electron acceptor tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ that shows orange fluorescence, while TCNQ embedded in PMMA emits green fluorescence upon excitation in the blue spectral range [14]. Thus fluorescence microscopy is sensitive to the individual polymer ( Fig.…”