The effects of long-ranged and short-ranged forces in confined near-critical polymeric liquids

Abstract

The relative importance of long- and short-ranged forces on the thermal fluctuations at polymer interfaces was investigated with neutron reflection. Polyolefin blends were synthesised to create polymer pairs with a tuned interaction parameter, allowing the exploration of situations from near criticality to strongly immiscible cases in thin-film systems. We have observed for the polymer interfacial width, a transition from a region where long-ranged forces dominate, at higher degree of incompatibility, to a region approaching criticality where short-ranged truncation forces are more relevant. © EDP Sciences.