Single-molecule imaging revealing the deformation-induced formation of a molecular polymer blend

Photoluminescence microscopy of conjugated polymer molecules in a polyethyl ene host has been applied to monitor the transition of a phase-separated po lymer blend into a molecular dispersion induced by solid-state tensile defo rmation. Statistical analysis of conjugated polymer cluster sizes as a func tion of the degree of matrix deformation shows that phase-separated domains of conjugated polymer transform into smaller clusters and single molecules as the degree of matrix deformation increases. Concomitantly, the conjugat ed guest molecules tend to adopt the preferential orientation of the surrou nding matrix. We demonstrate that single-molecule detection can be readily extended and applied to probing molecular dispersion, orientation: and morp hology in polymer-polymer blends.