Dynamics of surface directed mesophase formation in block copolymer melts

The dynamic mean-field density functional method is adapted to describe pha se separation in the presence of geometrical constraints. We observe that i nclusion of small filler particles (such as rods) already has a dramatic ef fect on the morphology of polymer melts. The effect is comparable to the ef fect of applied simple steady shear. Mesostructures in the presence of larg e filler particles such as plates are totally governed by the geometry of t he particle. Effects of polymer-surface interactions on morphology formatio n are investigated in detail. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S002 1-9606(99)70704-X].