title: Phase separation of binary blends in polymer nanoparticles.
abstract: Polymer blends in nanoparticles have been studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The TEM studies show that blend particles formed from two immiscible polymers by the miniemulsion process exhibit biphasic morphologies. The fact that no core-shell type but Janus-like structures were found indicates that the surface free energies between both polymers and the solution-water interface (including the surfactant molecules) are similar; therefore, the blend morphology and composition of the individual phases are mainly determined by the interaction between the two polymer components. Both the TEM studies and the PL experiments provide strong evidence that phase separation in these particles strictly follows the Flory-Huggins theory. This highlights the applicability of the nanoparticle approach to fabricate blend systems with well-controllable properties and to study structure-property relationships under well-defined conditions.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, 14469 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kietzke
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neher
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kumke
authors.forename: Omayma
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ghazy
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ziener
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Landfester
mesh_terms: D049449:Luminescence; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers