We introduce a kinetic model describing the phase separation in the mixture of long rod-like molecules and long chain-like molecules. The model uses the angular distribution function for the orientations of the rods as a dynamical variable. The energetics is based on the nonlocal Onsager theory for the rods combined with a nonlocal extension of the Flory-Huggins theory. The kinetics explicitly takes into account the preferential diffusion along the rods. We computed the phase diagrams in this model and found a number of transitions leading to phase separation. We also performed numerical simulations of the phase separation kinetics and studied the resulting morphologies. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.
Theory of phase separation kinetics in polymer-liquid crystal systems
Muratov, CB;
2002-01-01
Abstract
We introduce a kinetic model describing the phase separation in the mixture of long rod-like molecules and long chain-like molecules. The model uses the angular distribution function for the orientations of the rods as a dynamical variable. The energetics is based on the nonlocal Onsager theory for the rods combined with a nonlocal extension of the Flory-Huggins theory. The kinetics explicitly takes into account the preferential diffusion along the rods. We computed the phase diagrams in this model and found a number of transitions leading to phase separation. We also performed numerical simulations of the phase separation kinetics and studied the resulting morphologies. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.