Time-Resolved Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Studies of Spinodal Decomposition Kinetics in a Semidilute Polystyrene−Dioctyl Phthalate Solution

Colloidal phase separation of concentrated PNIPAm solutions

In the concentration range of 1-6 wt %, solutions of a thermosensitive polymer (poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAm), Mw = 1.4 x 10(5) g.mol(-1)) are shown to phase separate in the form of dense stable colloids of nearly pure polymer. Diffuse wave spectroscopy and small-angle neutron scattering both provide consistent measurements of the colloidal size as a function of temperature. Results are in agreement with a Cahn regime of spinodal decomposition blocked at an early stage, prior to a growth that would lead to a macroscopic phase separation. [Early results of this work were presented at the 231st American Chemical Society National Meeting, Symposium on Amphiphilic Polymers, Atlanta, GA, 2006, March 26-30.].

Small-angle x-ray scattering study of kinetics of spinodal decomposition in N-isopropylacrylamide gels

We present synchrotron-based time-resolved small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements of spinodal decomposition in a covalently cross-linked N-isopropylacrylamide gel. The range of wave numbers examined is well beyond the position of the maximum in the structure factor S(q,t). The equilibrium structure factor is described by the sum of a Lorentzian and a Gaussian. Following a temperature jump into the two phase region, the scattered intensity increases with time and eventually saturates. For early times the linear Cahn-Hilliard-Cook (CHC) theory can be used to describe the time evolution of the scattered intensity. From this analysis we found that the growth rate R(q) is linearly dependent on q(2), in agreement with mean-field theoretical predictions. However the Onsager transport coefficient Lambda(q) approximately q(-4), which is stronger than the q dependence predicted by the mean-field theory. We found that the growth rate R(q)>0, even though the wave numbers q probed by SAXS are greater than sqrt[2]q(m) where q(m) is the position of the peak of S(q,t), also in agreement with the mean-field predictions for a deep quench. We have also examined the range of validity of the linear CHC theory, and found that its breakdown occurs earlier at higher wave numbers. At later times, a pinning of the structure was observed. The relaxation to a final, microphase-separated morphology is faster and occurs earlier at the highest wave numbers, which probe length scales comparable to the average distance between crosslinks.