title: Shear-induced nano-macro structural transition in a polymeric bicontinuous microemulsion.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 55455, USA.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Almdal
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Burghardt
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Lodge
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Bates