J. Patrick et al., First observation of an ordered microphase in melts of poly(oxyethylene)-poly(oxypropylene) block copolymers, PHYS CHEM P, 2(7), 2000, pp. 1503-1507
The first observation of ordered microphase structures in poly(oxyethylene)
-poly(oxypropylene) diblock copolymers melts is reported. Two diblock copol
ymers were synthesised by anionic polymerisation, i.e. E130P58 and E107P69
where E represents an oxyethylene unit, OCH2CH2, and P an oxypropylene unit
, OCH2CH(CH3). The volume fractions of the two components were in the range
0.5-0.6. Order in the melt phase was confirmed by small angle X-ray scatte
ring, and order-to-disorder transitions (ODT) were located at 106 degrees C
(E130P58) and 114 degrees C (E107P69). In a related experiment, a triblock
copolymer with perdeuterated P blocks, E(33)dP(42)E(33), was synthesised a
nd studied in the melt phase by small-angle neutron scattering. This allowe
d determination of the temperature dependence of the Flory-Huggins interact
ion parameter for the poly(oxyethylene)-poly(oxypropylene) system, i.e. chi
= 20.2/T + 0.0221.