Hongdoo Kim

Orientation of carbon nanotubes in a sheared polymer melt

Optical measurements of the shear response of semidilute dispersions of polymer-dispersed multiwalled carbon nanotubes are presented. For a weakly elastic polymer melt, the data suggest that the semiflexible tubes orient along the direction of flow at low shear stress, with a transition to vorticity alignment above a critical shear stress, σc, corresponding to a critical Deborah number of approximately 0.15. In contrast, data for a highly elastic polymer solution suggest that the tubes orient with the flow field at high shear rates, in the limit of large Deborah number. The measurements are in qualitative agreement with previous experimental and theoretical studies of fiber orientation in elastic fluids under simple shear flow.

Competing growth kinetics in simultaneously crystallizing and phase-separating polymer blends

The kinetic interplay between crystal superstructure growth and late-stage liquid phase coarsening in a polymer blend has been examined. By controlling the relative quench depths for liquid–liquid phase separation and crystallization, the growth kinetics of the characteristic length scales of the simultaneous ordering processes show a crossover from crystallization dominated to phase-separation dominated behavior. Based on a scaling argument for late-stage coarsening during spinodal decomposition, we argue that this kinetic crossover is inevitable in a blend for which the critical temperature of liquid–liquid phase separation is well above the equilibrium melting temperature of the blend.

Shear stabilization of critical fluctuations in bulk polymer blends studied by small angle neutron scattering

The small angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique has been used to study the concentration fluctuations of binary polymer mixtures under shear. Two different polymer systems, deuterated polystyrene/poly(vinylmethylether) and deuterated polystyrene/polybutadiene, have been studied as a function of temperature and shear rate. Due to the small wavelength of the incident neutron radiation compared with light, the shear dependence of concentration fluctuations in the one‐phase region and in the strong shear limit has been obtained from the q dependence of the scattering structure factor for the first time. From a detailed analysis of the scattering structure factor S(q) a crossover value of the wave number qs has been obtained as a function of temperature and shear rate. This crossover wave number represents the inverse of the lowest fluctuation mode which is not affected by shear. The temperature, viscosity, and shear rate dependence of this experimentally determined qs agree well with a simple rotatory dif...

Optical measurements of structure and orientation in sheared carbon-nanotube suspensions

We describe an optical metrology for measuring shear-induced structure and orientation in dilute dispersions of multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Small-angle polarized light scattering and optical microscopy are combined in situ to quantify the structural anisotropy of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in semidilute, surfactant-stabilized aqueous suspensions under simple shear flow. Measurements performed as a function of the applied shear rate are used to demonstrate the capabilities and limitations of the experimental technique, which should be suitable for probing the shear response of polymer-nanotube melts and solutions.

Shear-Induced Mesostructure in Nanoplatelet-Polymer Networks

The shear response of a model polymer–clay gel is measured using small-angle neutron and light scattering, optical microscopy, and rheometry. As the flow disrupts the transient network that forms between clay and polymer, coupling between composition and stress leads to the formation of a macroscopic domain pattern, while the clay platelets orient with their surface normal parallel to the direction of vorticity. We discuss similarities with shear-induced structural transitions observed in other complex fluids, and we offer a physical explanation for the orientation of the clay platelets.

Shear-induced structure in polymer blends with viscoelastic asymmetry

Light scattering and optical microscopy have been used to measure the morphology as a function of shear rate and composition in polymer blends with viscoelastic asymmetry in the melt components. The blends studied are immiscible mixtures of low-vinyl polybutadiene (PB) and high-vinyl polyisoprene (PI), where the vinyl content strongly influences the rheological properties of the melt. At the temperatures where the optical measurements described here were performed, the PI starts to exhibit an elastic response above a critical shear rate γ c , while the PB responds like a viscous fluid up to the highest shear rates of interest. The disparate rheology of the two fluids leads to a rich variety of domain patterns and orientations as the volume fraction of the more elastic component is varied.

Apparatus for Simultaneous Small Angle Neutron Scattering and Steady Shear Viscosity Studies of Polymer Melts and Solutions

The design and construction of an apparatus for studying the simultaneous small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and steady shear viscosity behavior of polymer melts and concentrated solutions is discussed. Successful operation of the device is demonstrated on a blend of 20 weight percent deuterated polystyrene and 80 weight percent poly(vinylmethylether). The effects of shear on the critical behavior of the blend are observed in the SANS behavior as a function of temperature and shear rate and indicate shear induced mixing behavior for the range of shear rates examined. The steady shear viscosity results alone are insufficient for detecting the transition from one to two phases. The examination of shear effects in polymer blends is important for understanding the critical behavior of binary systems. Technologically, knowledge of the phase behavior of polymer blends under shear are important for the design and improvement of commercial blend processing.

Spacial harmonic analysis of transient optical grating

Abstract A novel modification of the forced Rayleigh scattering method for determining the translational diffusion coefficient and lifetime of photochromic moieties is effected through imposition of a non-sinusoidal transient optical grating (TOG) to a condensed medium sample. A multiple-order diffraction pattern is observed and subsequent analysis of the exponential decays of higher-order diffraction spots reveals that they originate from the higher-order spacial Fourier components of TOG.