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Session D40 - Poster Session I.
POSTER session, Monday afternoon, March 12
Exhibit Hall, Washington State Convention Center

[D40.088] Mass Transport within Block Copolymers: The Relationship with Morphology and Grain Structure

Kenneth S. Laverdure, Samuel P. Gido (Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts-Amherst), Bruce Garetz (Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Polytechnic University), Nitash Balsara (Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California-Berkeley)

The fundamental relationship of polymer morphology and grain structure on mass transport properties has been examined employing diblock copolymers and graft copolymers with unique molecular architectures. A custom-built gravimetric sorption apparatus has been implemented to measure the permeation and diffusion coefficients of small molecule gases in polymer films. The role of grain structure has been ignored in the literature due to lack of reliable characterization techniques. In the present study, the grain structure of the block copolymers was determined by digital analysis of images acquired by transmission electron microscopy. Diffusion and permeation coefficients have been correlated to total component volume fractions, strength of segregation, and grain structure.

Part D of program listing