Eur. Phys. J. E 4, 161-171
Kinetics of microphase segregation in one-dimensional symmetric diblock copolymer systems
V.A. Pryamitsyn1, A.N. Semenov2 and T.C.B. McLeish11 I.R.C. in Polymer Science & Technology, Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
2 Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
a.semenov@leeds.ac.uk
(Received 10 March 2000 and Received in final form 5 June 2000)
Abstract
An analytical one-dimensional model of the
microphase separation in symmetric diblock copolymers is developed.
Three stages of the process of the microphase segregation of a
quenched diblock copolymer system into a lamella structure are
predicted. The first stage involves a fast increase of the
amplitude of the quasi-periodical lamella structure (with the
average wave vector q0) up to a nearly equilibrium value; the
second stage is a slow phase diffusion process which is
characterized by increasing coherency of the lamella structure; the
third stage is the slow process of the lamella swelling, which is driven
by the thermally activated process of the spontaneous deletion of
excessive lamellas, the lamella size increasing from the initial
value 
to the equilibrium
during the process. The last two stages are described with the
specially introduced coarse-grained "amplitude-phase"
approximation. It is shown that the relaxation of the gradient of
the phase of the lamellar structure is the slowest relaxation
process and, thus, can be used as an effective order parameter of
the lamellar structure at the later stages of the microphase
segregation.
36.20.Ey - Macromolecules and polymer molecules: Conformation (statistics and dynamics).
83.70.Hq - Heterogeneous liquids: suspensions, dispersions, emulsions, pastes, slurries, foams, block copolymers, etc..
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2001
