Improving polymeric microemulsions with block copolymer polydispersity

Recent experiments have demonstrated that block copolymers are capable of s tabilizing immiscible homopolymer blends producing bicontinuous microemulsi on. The stability of these polymeric alloys requires the copolymer to form flexible, nonattractive monolayers along the homopolymer interfaces. We pre dict that copolymer polydispersity can substantially and simultaneously imp rove the nonolayers in both of these respects. Furthermore, polydispersity should provide similar improvements in systems, such as colloidal suspensio ns and polymer/clay composites, that utilize polymer brushes to suppress at tractive interactions.