Shear-induced nano-macro structural transition in a polymeric bicontinuous microemulsion

Phys Rev Lett. 2001 Aug 27;87(9):098301. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.098301. Epub 2001 Aug 9.

Abstract

Bicontinuous microemulsions arise in a narrow concentration range for ternary blends containing two immiscible homopolymers and the corresponding diblock copolymer. Steady shear reveals four distinct regimes of response as a function of shear rate, corresponding to flow-induced transitions in fluid structure. In situ neutron scattering shows flow-induced anisotropy in the nanometer-scale microemulsion structure at moderate shear rates, while higher rates induce bulk phase separation, with micron-size morphology, which is characterized with in situ light scattering and optical microscopy.