Jr. Dorgan et D. Yan, KINETICS OF SPINODAL DECOMPOSITION IN LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE POLYMERS - PROCESSING EFFECTS ON THE PHASE-SEPARATION MORPHOLOGY, Macromolecules, 31(1), 1998, pp. 193-200
Results from a Landau-Ginzburg model which treats the problem of spino
dal decomposition of liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) in solution ar
e presented. Morphological evolution of one conserved order parameter
(polymer volume fraction) and one nonconserved order parameter (the Fl
ory orientational order parameter) is considered. Processing effects o
n morphology including quench temperature, composition, solvent qualit
y, and molecular weight are presented. Simulations of example quenchin
g experiments demonstrate that increased LCP concentration, decreased
molecular weight, increased solvation, and decreased quench depth all
lead to increased domain size. Implications of the model regarding the
optimization of processing conditions for LCP fiber spinning and film
casting are discussed.