Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Consequences Of Block Number On The Order-Disorder Transition And Viscoelastic Properties Of Linear (Ab)N Multiblock Copolymers, Lifeng Wu, Eric W. Cochran, Timothy P. Lodge, Frank S. Bates

Eric W. Cochran

The effect of block number on the order-disorder transition (ODT) and viscoelastic properties were studied for linear (AB) n multiblock copolymers. A series of symmetric poly(styrene-b-isoprene) n multiblocks ((SI) n, n = 1-10) were synthesized by anionic polymerization, and their order-disorder transition temperatures (T ODT) were located using dynamic mechanical spectroscopy. As n increases, T ODT approaches an asymptotic value, consistent with random phase approximation calculations. A systematic difference between the experimental and theoretical results is attributable to the effects of fluctuations, independent of the number of blocks. Addition of up to 20 vol % of a nonselective solvent depresses …