화학공학소재연구정보센터
Langmuir, Vol.32, No.14, 3445-3451, 2016
Real-Time Monitoring of Chemical and Topological Rearrangements in Solidifying Amphiphilic Polymer Co-Networks: Understanding Surface Demixing
Amphiphilic polymer co-networks provide a unique route to integrating contrasting attributes of otherwise immiscible components within a bicontinuous percolating morphology and are anticipated to be valuable for applications such as biocatalysis, sensing of metabolites, and dual dialysis membranes. These co-networks are in essence chemically forced blends and have been shown to selectively phase separate at surfaces during film formation. Here, we demonstrate that surface demixing at the air-film interface in solidifying polymer co-networks is not a unidirectional process; instead, a combination of kinetic and thermodynamic interactions leads to dynamic molecular rearrangement during solidification. Time-resolved gravimetry, low contact angles, and negative out-of-plane birefringence provided strong experimental evidence of the transitory trapping of thermodynamically unfavorable hydrophilic moieties at the air film interface due to fast asymmetric solvent depletion. We also find that slow-drying hydrophobic elements progressively substitute hydrophilic domains at the surface as the surface energy is minimized. These findings are broadly applicable to common-solvent bicontinuous systems and open the door for process-controlled performance improvements in diverse applications. Similar observations could potentially be coupled with controlled polymerization rates to maximize the intermingling of bicontinuous phases at surfaces, thus generating true three-dimensional, bicontinuous, and undisturbed percolation pathways throughout the material.