STRUCTURE FORMATION IN HETEROGENEOUS POLYMER MIXTURES IN THE PRESENCEOF MASS-TRANSFER ACROSS INTERFACES

Interfacial phenomena contribute strongly to structure formation in mu ltiphase blends. Structure formation is usually considered assuming a spatially uniform interfacial tension. Interfacial tension gradients, however, may arise due to a non-uniform temperature distribution or a spatial variation of the interfacial composition. They are of major im portance in non-equilibrium systems where heat or mass is transferred across the interfaces and they considerably affect structure formation processes. This contribution reports studies on the control of struct ure formation in a ternary model system. In particular, the coalescenc e of droplets and the break-up of liquid threads are investigated. It will be shown that both the time for coalescence to occur and the stab ility of liquid threads are strongly influenced if a compatibilizing a gent diffuses across the interface. The spinning drop technique has be en found to allow a reliable determination of interfacial tensions and , far beyond, to permit the simulation of coalescence and break-up.