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8254937 
Journal Article 
Thickness dependence of liquid-liquid phase separation in thin films of a polyolefin blend 
Hong, S; Zhang, X; Zhang, R; Zhao, J; Han, CC 
2009 
1 
Macromolecules
ISSN: 0024-9297
EISSN: 1520-5835 
AMER CHEMICAL SOC 
WASHINGTON 
42 
12 
4349-4351 
English 
WOS:000267048200073 
A study was conducted to investigate the liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) in poly(ethylene-co-hexene) (PEH)/poly(ethylene-co-butene) (PEB) blend thin films with thickness ranging from 190 mm-10 μm. The investigations were conducted using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The statistical copolymers of ethylene/hexane (PEH) and ethylene/butene (PEB) were used to conduct the investigations. The blend of PEH and PEB with mass fraction of 40% was prepared for the investigations. Silicon substrates were cleaned with piranha solution at 80 °C for 1 hour and rinsed in deionized water and dried with pure N 2 gas flow. The blend films with range of 1-20 μm were prepared by hot pressing at 160 ± 2 °C between two pieces of silicon wafers with one piece removed after cooling. The film thickness was measured by AFM scrape test or from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of their cross sections.