Viscosity variations during phase separation

When two or more components are present in a thin film, there is the potential for phase separation and therefore a wide range of microstructural variation. In addition, for solution-processed materials, the solvent acts as a further component that is controllably removed during fabrication. Therefore, in the case of small-mole-cule/polymer systems, there can be several factors that determine the overall phase behavior first, the thermodynamics of mixing between components and the balance of entropic and enthalpic contributions to the free energy of mixing, AG ixi second, the interaction between solution and substrate or atmosphere interfaces and finally, the kinetics of solvent evaporation and changes to the solution that this induces, such as viscosity variation or phase separation within the solution. It should be noted that these processes are often far from thermodynamic equilibrium leading to a film microstructure that can sometimes be difficult to predict. 

Other physical properties of the sulfur-polysulfide melt influence cell performance and have been studied. Density is perhaps foremost among these since density variation during discharge will dictate cathode void volume requirements. Furthermore since the sulfur-polysulfide melt is a two-phase system (see Figure 2) over much of the discharge range, density in conjunction with viscosity and surface tension establish the nature of the phase separation. Measurements of density (19, 23) demonstrate that the reaction proceeds at 360°C according to ... 

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