Real-time SANS study of interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) formation

Abstract

Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) are a combination of two or more polymers in network form, with at least one polymer polymerised and/or crosslinked. The nanostructure was investigated for sequential IPNs formed from (i) either radial or linear poly(styrene-co-butadiene-co-styrene) (SB4/SBS) copolymer, and (ii) polystyrene (PS). For polymer network I, the SB4/SBS copolymer self-assembled into ordered micro-domain structures, which acted as a template for the resultant IPN. The formation of the IPN was studied using real-time small angle neutron scattering. For the linear SBS IPN, the time-zero pattern showed an ordered lamella structure and as polymerisation and crosslinking progressed, the first-order peak increased in amplitude (factor x4) and higher-order peaks appeared. The position and width of the first-order peak did not change significantly, indicating that the size and spacing of the domains did not change. The increase in molecular organisation can be attributed to (i) sharpening of phase boundaries (ii) annealing of domain positions, and/or (iii) increasing the contrast by material moving between domains. Investigations of phase transformation kinetics may aid in the design of specific structures for nanotechnology applications, as well as traditional engineering applications. © The Authors