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a) b - École Polytechnique de Montréal

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the existence of continuous microstructures with a high accuracy when the components are<br />

soluble in specific solvents. In this approach, the volumes of the components before and after<br />

extraction are measured by weighing the sample and converting the weight to volume (Equation<br />

6-2).<br />

Equation 6-2<br />

% Cocontinuity<br />

=<br />

∑Vinitial − ∑<br />

n n<br />

Vinitial and Vfinal are the volume of one component or present in the sample, before and after<br />

extraction, calculated by weighing the sample and converting it to the volume. The reported<br />

value is the average of %cocontinuity for several samples and the average error bar for high<br />

continuity levels is ± 5% and for low continuity levels is ± 3%. Cyclohexane was utilized as<br />

selective solvents for polystyrene and acetic acid for poly(methyl methacrylate).<br />

6.3.5 Characterization of Phase Morphology<br />

6.3.5.1 Microtoming and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)<br />

The specimens were cut and microtomed un<strong>de</strong>r liquid nitrogen to a plane face using a<br />

microtome (Leica-Jung RM 2065) equipped with a glass knife and a cryochamber type (LN 21).<br />

After the appropriate treatment of the sample with selective solvents (acetic acid for PMMA and<br />

cyclohexane for PS) to remove one or both of the components, the sample surface was coated<br />

with a gold/palladium by plasma <strong>de</strong>position. A JEOL JSM 840 scanning electron microscope,<br />

operated at a voltage of 10keV to 12keV, was used to obtain photomicrographs of the sample<br />

surface.<br />

∑<br />

n<br />

V<br />

initial<br />

V<br />

final<br />

180

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