Domain swelling in micellar composites of poly(styrene-block-oxyethylene) in poly(styrene)

Abstract

The Whitmore/Noolandi theory of micelle formation in binary block copolymer--homopolymer blends has been expanded to predict micelle characteristics and swelling limits in dilute ternary blends of A-B diblock polymers swollen with low molecular weight homopolymer B in a matrix of homopolymer A. Transmission electron micrographs of binary composites of PS and PS-b-POE and ternary composites of PS, PS-b-POE and POE support theoretical predictions of micelle size and the volume of low molecular weight POE which can be incorporated in PS-b-POE micelles. The dielectric loss spectra of binary PS/PS-b-POE composites differ significantly from those exhibited by ternary PS/PS-b-POE/POE composites. This difference in relaxation characteristics of micellar-b-POE and POE may reflect a tendency of the homopolymer to accumulate at the center of the micelle core.