Oligomer/Polymer Blend Phase Diagram and Surface Concentration Profiles for Squalane/Polybutadiene: Experimental Measurements and Predictions from SAFT-γ Mie and Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

The compatibility and surface behavior of squalane-polybutadiene mixtures are studied by experimental cloud point and neutron reflectivity measurements, statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. A SAFT-γ Mie model is shown to be successful in capturing the cloud point curves of squalane-polybutadiene and squalane--polybutadiene binary mixtures, and the same SAFT-γ Mie model is used to develop a thermodynamically consistent top-down coarse-grained force field to describe squalane-polybutadiene. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study surface behavior for different concentrations of squalane, with the system exhibiting surface enrichment and a wetting transition.

Correction: Predicting oligomer/polymer compatibility and the impact on nanoscale segregation in thin films.

Correction for 'Predicting oligomer/polymer compatibility and the impact on nanoscale segregation in thin films' by Elise F. D. Sabattié et al.

Blooming of Smectic Surfactant/Plasticizer Layers on Spin-Cast Poly(vinyl alcohol) Films.

The blooming of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and the influence of plasticizer (glycerol) on the surfactant distribution in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films have been explored by neutron reflectometry (NR) and ion beam analysis techniques. When in binary films with PVA, deuterated SDS (d-SDS) forms a surface excess corresponding to a wetting layer of the surfactant molecules at the film surface. The magnitude of this surface excess increased significantly in the presence of the plasticizer, and the surfactant was largely excluded from the PVA subphase.

Predicting oligomer/polymer compatibility and the impact on nanoscale segregation in thin films.

Compatibility between oligomers and polymers was systematically assessed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and was correlated with similarity in saturation and solubility parameter. These measurements enabled validation of detailed volume of mixing calculations using Statistical Association Fluid Theory (SAFT-γ Mie) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, which can be used to predict behaviour beyond the experimentally accessible conditions. These simulations confirmed that squalane is somewhat more compatible with poly(isoprene), "PI" than poly(butadiene), "PB", and further enabled prediction of the temperature dependence of compatibility.