Structural coarsening of demixed polymer solutions

The structural coarsening of demixed polystyrene/cyclohexane solutions was studied by using a quick freeze/freeze-dry technique. Quenches of near-critical solutions were bicontinuous; however, the coarsening law was found to be consistent with a diffusive coarsening mechanism. A quantitative model of the diffusive coarsening process was developed specifically for demixed polymer solutions to predict the structural sizes and the concentration dependence of coarsening