Design and morphology control of polymer nanocomposites using light-driven phase separation phenomena

Dan-Thuy Van-Pham, Xuan-Anh Trinh, Hideyuki Nakanishi and Qui Tran-Cong-Miyata

Abstract

Phase separation of polymer mixtures is induced and controlled by photo-cross-link and photopolymerization using ultraviolet (UV) light. By taking advantage of the competition between phase separation and chemical reactions, a variety of morphologies such as co-continuous, spatially graded co-continuous and periodic structures with controllable periods, and hexagonal structures, etc, are obtained experimentally. The reaction kinetics (photo-cross-link or photopolymerization), reaction-induced elastic strain and phase separation kinetics are monitored, respectively, by UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, Mach–Zehnder interferometry (MZI), light scattering (LS) and laser-scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). Spatial modulation of light intensity generated by computer-assisted irradiation (CAI) is also used to induce phase separation of polymer blends. The correlation between the reaction-induced phase separation of polymer mixtures and the competing interactions is discussed with some perspectives on designing polymer materials with high performance