Kinetic and structural aspects of gelation in polyacrylonitrile-propylene carbonate system

Structural rearrangements in solutions of high-molecular-mass polyacrylonitrile in propylene carbonate upon phase separation were studied and quantitatively characterized by means of turbidity spectroscopy and oscillation rheometry with the use of previous data obtained via the light transmission technique. The kinetic features of separation of the new phase and the particle size growth were established. It was shown that there is a time lag between the onset of physical-gel formation in the system and the onset of phase separation. The average particle size that corresponds to the transition of the system into gel and determines the gel morphology at the subsequent further stages was found for different temperatures.