Equilibrium Dynamics in the Nondiffusive Regime of an Entangled Polymer Blend

D. Lumma; M. A. Borthwick; P. Falus; L. B. Lurio; S. G. J. Mochrie

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.2042

Equilibrium Dynamics in the Nondiffusive Regime of an Entangled Polymer Blend

D. Lumma, M. A. Borthwick, P. Falus, L. B. Lurio, and S. G. J. Mochrie

Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 2042 – Published 5 March 2001

Abstract

The dynamics of compositional fluctuations in a miscible, entangled homopolymer blend of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(methyl methacrylate) were studied on length scales smaller than the polymer radii of gyration, and for times comparable to the polymers' disentanglement time. The measured relaxation rates are consistent with predictions of the reptation model, as expressed via the dynamic random-phase approximation. Moreover, the observed mode amplitudes allow for an estimate of the entanglement length in the blend.

Received 6 January 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.2042

Authors & Affiliations

D. Lumma^*, M. A. Borthwick, P. Falus, L. B. Lurio, and S. G. J. Mochrie^†

Department of Physics and Center for Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

^*Present address: Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung, Ackermannweg 10, D-55128 Mainz, Germany.
^†Present address: Departments of Physics and Applied Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520.