Mesoscale morphologies, in polymer blends

Mesoscale Morphologies in Polymer Blends Spherulites and Miorocrystallites... 

The effect of tacticity (i.e., the stereochemical arrangement of the units in the main chain of a polymer) on the properties of polymers and polymer blends has long been recognized with such basic differences as in the Tg, miscibility, crystallization, and blend characterization, including their mesoscale morphologies. In general, isotactic polymers (where all substituents are located on the same side of the polymer backbone) are semicrystalline in nature, whereas atactic polymers (where all substituents are placed randomly along the backbone) are amorphous. 

Of course, nanocomposites are not the only area where mesoscale theories are being used to predict nanostructure and morphology. Other applications include—but are not limited to—block copolymer-based materials, surfactant and lipid liquid crystalline phases, micro-encapsulation of drugs and other actives, and phase behavior of polymer blends and solutions. In all these areas, mesoscale models are utilized to describe—qualitatively and often semi-quantitatively—how the structure of each component and the overall formulation influence the formation of the nanoscale morphology. 

The prediction of the mesoscale morphology of complex polymer systems is very important for the final product properties. The application area of the proposed method includes computer simulation of such processes as emulsion copolymerization, copolymer melts and softened polymer melts, polymer blends, polymer surfactant stabilized emulsions, and adsorption phenomena in aqueous surfactant systems. 

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