Polymer, Vol.36, No.26, 4951-4960, 1995
Kinetics of Droplet Growth in Liquid-Liquid Phase-Separation of Polymer-Diluent Systems - Experimental Results
Liquid-liquid thermally induced phase separation of the polymer-diluent system isotactic poly(propylene)-diphenyl ether was studied under an optical microscope. It was found that as the system phase separated, droplets of a diluent-rich phase formed within a polymer-rich matrix. These droplets grew in size and decreased in number by a process known as coarsening. The scaling exponent relating droplet diameter and time was determined. The scaling exponent was found to be a strong function of the droplet phase volume fraction, and this strong dependence on volume fraction was relatively insensitive to temperature. The influence of the ratio of interfacial tension between the phases and the viscosity of the matrix phase was less significant on the growth rate of the droplets.