Phase Ordering and Crystallization Kinetics in Ultrathin Poly(ethylene oxide)/Poly(methyl methacrylate) Blend Films |
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| Authors: | Jun Zhu Mingtai Wang |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Hefei, China;2. Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Hefei, China;3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering , Anhui Institute of Architecture &4. Industry , Hefei, China |
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| Abstract: | Crystallization in ultrathin Poly(Ethylene Oxide)/Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) (PEO/PMMA) blend films with thickness of ca. 10 nm was investigated by means of microscopic and in situ spectroscopic methods. It was revealed that the blend films undergo a phase ordering in a humid atmosphere before or during crystallization, with PEO de-mixing with PMMA and segregating to the free film interface on the PMMA layer. The de-mixed PEO chains crystallize into a fractal-like morphology by a diffusion-limited process, and the crystal growth is 1-dimensional with Avrami exponent n ≈ 1, resulting in flat-on crystal lamellae with the PEO chains oriented normal to the film plane. |
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| Keywords: | Blends crystallization kinetics poly(ethylene oxide) poly(methyl methacrylate) ultrathin films |
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