Shear induced homogenization study of an immiscible polymer blend solution using fluorescence microscope

Abstract

Fluorescence microscope technique was employed for the characterization of phase separation behavior of a 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan labeled polystyrene (PS) / polybutadiene (PB) blend in dioctyl phthalate under steady shear. It was confirmed that the fluorescence microscope images reflect the real phase morphology by comparing with the images of phase contrast microscope. Comparing the fluorescence intensities from the phase separated domain (PS rich) and continuous phase (PB rich), the composition difference between these two phases were deduced. The observed shear dependence of compositional change is then used to confirm that the phase diagram is indeed shifted under the steady shear.