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a) b - École Polytechnique de Montréal

a) b - École Polytechnique de Montréal

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dispersed phase (60/10/30 HDPE/PS/PMMA); b) tri-continuous (40/25/25 HDPE/PS/PMMA); c)<br />

bi-continuous/dispersed phase (50/25/25 HDPE/PS/PMMA); d) matrix/two separate dispersed<br />

phases (20/60/20). Solvent extraction/gravimetry is used to examine the extent of continuity of<br />

the components. Increasing the concentration of the core phase in the matrix/core-shell<br />

morphology results in the coalescence of core phases which leads to the formation of a tri-<br />

continuous morphology. Tri-continuous structures can be classified into two categories: type I<br />

and type II. The bi-continuous/dispersed phase morphology consists in a co-continuous structure<br />

for two phases with the third phase present as a dispersed phase.<br />

A triangular composition/morphology diagram comprised of various compositions of<br />

HDPE/PS/PMMA is prepared to better un<strong>de</strong>rstand the composition <strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nce of the various<br />

morphological states for complete wetting and their inter-conversion. This diagram <strong>de</strong>monstrates<br />

the concentration regimes for various morphological regions. These regions are <strong>de</strong>tected by a<br />

combination of both SEM and FIB-AFM and through the use of selective extraction/gravimetric<br />

analysis as a quantitative technique to <strong>de</strong>tect inversion points. Triangular continuity plots are<br />

introduced to show the continuity of the PS and PMMA phases respectively. It is found that in a<br />

ternary blend, percolation threshold becomes a line due to simultaneously changing the<br />

concentration of the two other phases in blend. Two compositional lines, or schemes, across<br />

the 3-axes triangular diagram which traverse multiple morphological states, are selected to<br />

study the effect of the concentration of the inner (HDPE) and middle (PS) phases on the<br />

morphology of the middle phase and the effect of the composition of the inner phase (HDPE)<br />

and the outer phase (PMMA) on the morphology of the middle phase (PS).<br />

It is shown that extreme changes in the viscosity of the PMMA phase (L-PMMA and H-<br />

PMMA) in a PS/HDPE/PMMA blend of constant composition still results in morphological<br />

structures where the PS separates HDPE and PMMA. In both the L-PMMA case and the H-<br />

PMMA case, the morphological classification of the bi-continuous/dispersed PMMA phase is<br />

unchanged. It is found that the scale of the resulting morphological structures has been<br />

significantly modified by the viscosity of the PMMA, as the system attempts to respond to the<br />

dramatically reduced interfacial area of the H-PMMA droplets. It is also found that the<br />

composition, interfacial tension, and viscosity ratio play an important role in <strong>de</strong>termining the<br />

phase size in ternary polymer blends.<br />

94

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