MORPHOLOGY CONTROL IN REACTION-INDUCED PHASE-SEPARATED POLYMERIC SYSTEMS

In this article the morphology control of poly(ethyl acrylate)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) has been attempted either by changing reaction temperature or by adding the third component at the initial stage of phase separation. The morphological variation was followed via dynamic mechanical behavior and electron microscopy. It was found that raising the polymerization temperature of PMMA or adding linear PMMA to the initial mixture facilitates phase separation during the semi-IPNs formation process. However, the phase separation was further induced by annealing, which indicates that kinetically controlled morphology was not at its equilibrium state. (C) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.