MOLECULAR DESIGN OF MULTICOMPONENT POLYMER SYSTEMS .19. STABILITY OF COCONTINUOUS PHASE MORPHOLOGIES IN LOW-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE POLYSTYRENE BLENDS EMULSIFIED BY BLOCK-COPOLYMERS

Polyethylene-polystyrene blends containing small amounts of polyethylene (20 wt %) display a cocontinuous phase morphology that is very unstable in the absence of an emulsifier. The kinetics of coalescence at high temperature is therefore very sensitive to differences in the interfacial activity of added polymeric emulsifiers. The morphology of blends added with a pure or a tapered hydrogenated polybutadiene-b-polystyrene block copolymer is investigated as a function of annealing time at 180 degrees C. Various image treatments (standard granulometry, opening size granulometry distribution, and multiscaling analysis) were used to quantify the morphological evolution of these blends. The results clearly demonstrate that the tapered block copolymer is definitely more efficient than the corresponding pure diblock for stabilizing the cocontinuous structure of these blends. The differential behavior is assumed to result from differences in the tendency of the two copolymers to segregate and form their own domains. (C) 1995 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.