Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
The role of copolymer sequence distribution on the interfacial characteristics of a ternary polymer blend containing 2 homopoiymers and a copolymer in the phase separated state are examined using Monte Carlo Simulation. The copolymer does migrate to the biphasic interface in the phase separated regime while the configuration and expansion of the copolymer at the interface is a function of sequence distribution within the copolymer. This effect is interpreted in terms of the efficiency of the copolymer to strengthen the biphasic interface. These results suggest that block, alternating, and block-ran structures show promise as interfacial modifiers, while the purely random and alt-ran copolymers will be less efficient as an interfacial strengthener. It is also found that a variation of the sequence distribution away from a purely random structure can dramatically effect the ability of the copolymer to modify the interface. As most polymers which are not block nor alternating are termed ‘random’, this differentiation may have an effect on experimental studies of ‘random’ copolymers as compatibilizers in polymer blends.