• Fibers and Polymers
• /
• v.4 no.4
• /
• pp.188-194
• /
• 2003

Phase behavior and spinodal phase separation kinetics in binary blends of a random copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and trifluoroethylene (75/25) [P(VDF/TrFE)] and poly(l,4-butylene adipate) (PBA) have been investigated by means of optical microscopic observation and time-resolved light scattering. The blends exhibited a typical lower critical solution temperature (LCST)∼${34}^{\circ}C$ above the melting temperature of the P(VDF/TrFE) crystals over the entire blend composition range. P(VDF/TrFE) and PBA were totally miscible in the temperature gap between the melting point of P(VDF/TrFE) and the LCST. Temperature jump experiments of the 3/7 P(VDF/TrFE)/PBA blend were carried out on a light-scattering apparatus from a single-phase melt state (${180}^{\circ}C$) to a two-phase region (205∼${215}^{\circ}C$). Since the late stage of spinodal decomposition (SD) is prevalent in the 3/7 blend, SD was analyzed using a power law scheme. Self-similarity was preserved well in the late stage of SD in the 3/7 blend.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.821-828
• /
• 2002

Regular and highly interconnected macroporous poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) scaffolds with pore size of 10∼300 ㎛ were fabricated through thermally induced phase separation of a PLLA-dioxane-water ternary system in the presence of a small amount of Pluronics. Addition of Pluronics to the ternary system raised the cloud-point temperature curve in the order of P-123< F-68< F-127. The Pluronics act as nuclei for the phase separation. This assistance is enhanced with increasing length of the hydrophilic PEO blocks in the Pluronics molecules. Liquid-liquid spinodal phase separation was induced at higher temperatures in the systems containing Pluronics because the spinodal region is raised to higher temperature. The absorption of Pluronics onto the interface stabilizes a macro scale structure and increases the interconnection of pores.

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.160-163
• /
• 2016

Effect of dealloying condition on the formation of nanoporous structure in melt-spun $Al_{60}Ge_{30}Mn_{10}$ alloy has been investigated in the present study. In as-melt-spun $Al_{60}Ge_{30}Mn_{10}$ alloy spinodal decomposition occurs in the undercooled liquid during cooling, leading to amorphous phase separation. By immersing the as-melt-spun $Al_{60}Ge_{30}Mn_{10}$ alloy in 5 wt% HCl solution, Al-rich amorphous region is leached out, resulting in an interconnected nano-porous $GeO_x$ with an amorphous structure. The dealloying temperature strongly affects the whole dealloying process. At higher dealloying temperature, dissolution kinetics and surface diffusion/agglomeration rate become higher, resulting in the accelerated dealloying kinetics, i.e., larger dealloying depth and coarser pore-ligament structure.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.333-342
• /
• 2022

In this paper, we perform a direct comparison study of real experimental data for domain rearrangement and the Cahn-Hilliard (CH) equation on the dynamics of morphological evolution. To validate a mathematical model for physical phenomena, we take initial conditions from experimental images by using an image segmentation technique. The image segmentation algorithm is based on the Mumford-Shah functional and the Allen-Cahn (AC) equation. The segmented phase-field profile is similar to the solution of the CH equation, that is, it has hyperbolic tangent profile across interfacial transition region. We use unconditionally stable schemes to solve the governing equations. As a test problem, we take domain rearrangement of lipid bilayers. Numerical results demonstrate that comparison of the evolutions with experimental data is a good benchmark test for validating a mathematical model.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.46 no.5
• /
• pp.958-964
• /
• 2008

In this work, micro-sized dextran particles, which have recently been focused as one of the candidate materials for the Drug Delivery System(DDS), were prepared by means of the Supercritical Antisolvent (SAS) process with $CO_2$. With dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO) as the solvent, effects of the operating variables such as temperature (308.15~323.15 K), pressure(90~130 bar), solute concentration(10~20 mg/ml), and the molecular weight of the solute(Mw=37,500, 450,000) on the size and morphology of the resulting particles were thoroughly observed. The higher solute concentration led to the larger particles, however, the injection velocity of the solution and pressure did not show significant effects on the resulting particle size. With dextran of the lower molecular weight, the smallest particles were obtained at 313.15 K. On the other hand, the size of the particles from the high molecular weight dextran ranged between $0.1{\sim}0.5{\mu}m$ with an incremental effect of the temperature and pressure. For the solute concentration of 5 mg/ml, the lower molecular weight dextran did not form discrete particles while aggregation of the particles appeared when the solute concentration exceeded 15 mg/ml for the higher molecular weight dextran. It is believed that if the solute concentration is too low, the degree of the supersaturation in the recrystallization chamber would not be sufficient for initiation of the nucleation and growth mechanism. Instead, the spinodal decomposition mechanism leads to formation of the island-like phase separation which appears similar to aggregation of the discrete particles. This effect would be more pronounced for the smaller molecular weight polymer system due to the narrower phase-splitting region.