Towards the Molecular Design of Novel Sensor and High Tech Polymeric Systems
Abstract
We have greatly extended and applied our theory to describe the thermodynamic properties of mixtures polymers (polymer blends), with applications to explaining experimental data that cannot be explained by any other theories. The extensions involve elucidating general trends in the pressure dependence of polymer phase diagrams, the development of a new theory for random copolymer systems with explicit evaluation of the entropic contributions to the effective interaction parameter, a description of the synergistic roles of asymmetries in interactions, chain stiffness, and monomer structures, and the development of a simplified version of the theory that contains many essential features in a form readily usable by experimentalists. Applications have included the explanation of puzzling data for binary polyolefin blends, for blends of random copolymers containing cyclo-olefins, and for the remarkable variation of the phase behavior (upper vs. lower order-disorder transition temperature) in poly(n alkyl methacrylates) as a function of the alkyl chain length n.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 20, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA379115
Entities
People
- Jacek Dudowicz
- Karl F. Freed
Organizations
- University of Chicago