Interfacial Reaction Induced Roughening in Polymer Blends

Abstract

Interfacial reaction between two immiscible polymers can cause changes in the interfacial morphology. We demonstrated this using an aliphatic amine terminated polystyrene (PS−NH2) and anhydride terminated poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA−ah). Interfacial morphologies were recorded using transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Coupling of PS−NH2 and PMMA−ah induced flat interfaces to roughen with a magnitude of roughness around a few hundred nanometers. These morphological changes were explained in terms of the decrease of interfacial tension due to the creation of block copolymers and the thermal fluctuation induced deformations at interfaces.

Wavy membranes and the growth rate of a planar chemical garden: Enhanced diffusion and bioenergetics

“…For liquid-liquid interfaces, most chemical research focuses on immiscible liquids such as certain polymer melts (17,18) and emulsions because sharp interfaces between miscible liquids are difficult to generate and swiftly decay owing to diffusion and other transport phenomena. This limitation is eliminated or at least weakened if the two liquids produce a gel-like or solid reaction product that effectively compartmentalizes the system.…”

In situ compatibilization of PET/PS blends through carbamate-functionalized reactive copolymers

“…Yukioka and Inoue 23 found that the formation of a thick interface was achieved at an appropriate reaction rate. Interfacial topology changed by reduced interfacial tension due to the creation of in situ copolymers and thermal-fluctuation-induced deformations at interfaces were reported by Lyu et al 24 To confirm the presence of the in situ copolymers at the interface, the interfacial roughness was observed with a three-dimensional AFM image. Figure 4 shows the interfacial topologies between PET and PS (or the PS/PSM mixture).…”

“…[22][23][24] Lee and Char 22 explained the remarkable increase in fracture toughness of the interface over a certain interfacial region in which the diffusion and reaction are comparable. Yukioka and Inoue 23 found that the formation of a thick interface was achieved at an appropriate reaction rate.…”

A Survey of Surface Modification Techniques for Next-Generation Shape Memory Polymer Stent Devices

“…In general, surface roughening aims not only to increase the surface area of the material, but also to restrict cell movement, which contributes to enhanced cell attachment [21,[39][40][41]. Cells are still able to migrate on roughened surfaces, but no significant increases or decreases in migration have been noted compared to smooth surfaces [42].…”