Effective interaction between monolayers of block copolymer compatiblizer in a polymer blend

The stability of ternary blends of two immiscible homopolymers and a block copolymer compatiblizer depends crucially on the effective interaction between the copolymer monolayers that form between the unlike homopolymer domains. Here, the interaction is calculated for blends involving A and B homopolymers of equal size with AB diblock copolymers of symmetric composition using both self-consistent field theory (SCFT) and strong-segregation theory (SST). If the homopolymers are larger than the copolymer molecules, an attractive interaction is predicted which would destroy the blend. This conclusion coupled with considerations regarding the elastic properties of the monolayer suggests that the optimum size of the homopolymer molecules is about 80% that of the copolymer molecule. A detailed examination of the theory demonstrates that the attraction results from the configurational entropy loss of the homopolymer molecules trapped between the copolymer monolayers. We conclude by suggesting how the monolayers can be altered in order to suppress this attraction and thus improve compatiblization. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)50615-1].