Monte-Carlo simulation of ternary blends of block copolymers and homopolymers

Abstract

We perform a theoretically informed coarse grain Monte-Carlo simulation in the nPT-ensemble and the Gibbs ensemble on symmetric ternary mixtures of AB-diblock copolymers with the corresponding homopolymers. We study the lamellar period by varying the length and amount of homopolymers. The homopolymer distribution within the lamellar morphology is determined as is the maximum amount of homopolymer within the lamellae. Gibbs ensemble simulations are used to locate the three-phase coexistence between two homopolymer-rich phases and a lamellar phase. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3638175]