Miniemulsions as Dynamic Confinement Environments for Polymer Crystallization

Introducing interfaces and/or confinement to the polymer crystallization process is unique as the resulting kinetics, structure, and morphology can be vastly different compared to the bulk. Manipulating the confinement size and interfacial energy can provide control over the crystallization process resulting in tunable morphologies and properties. Miniemulsions where polymer/poor solvent is used as the dispersed phase present an intriguing case where the confinement is introduced by the liquid/liquid (L/L) interface and the confinement length scale, droplet size, can be readily tuned. A unique aspect of this system is the (L/L) interface that is dynamic when compared to solid/liquid, solid/solid, or vapor/liquid and that has a tunable interfacial energy by choice of emulsifier, solvent, and polymer. The nanoscale curvature of the interface is also interesting in regard to polymer crystallization where the curvature is incommensurate with the crystal’s translational symmetry. Our group has recently utilized a miniemulsion system to study polymer crystallization at curved (L/L) interface for a variety of polymers and hybrid materials. This talk will focus on our findings of the unique nanoscale morphologies obtained along with the unique thermal and mechanical properties observed.