Incorporating fluctuations and dynamics in self-consistent field theories for polymer blends

We present a lattice formulation of a dynamic self-consistent field (DSCF) theory that is capable of resolving interfacial structure, dynamics and rheology in inhomogeneous, compressible melts and blends of unentangled homopolymer chains. The joint probability distribution of all the Kuhn segments in the fluid, interacting with adjacent segments and walls, is approximated by a product of one-body probabilities for free segments interacting solely with an external potential fi...

We present a lattice model for polymer solutions, explicitly incorporating interactions with solvent molecules and the contribution of vacancies. By exploiting the well-known analogy between polymer systems and the $O(n)$-vector spin model in the limit $n \to 0$, we derive an exact field-theoretic expression for the partition function of the system. The latter is then evaluated at the saddle-point, providing a mean-field estimate of the free energy. The resulting expression, ...

The derivation of density functional energies from the random phase approximation of self-consistent mean field theory is generalized and applied to a binary blend of diblock copolymers and homopolymers. A nonlocal transformation is incorporated into the density functional model prior to the strong segregation extrapolation step employed by Uneyama and Doi. The transformation affords a systematic parameterization of the free energy that preserves key structural features such ...

The reliability of the mean-field approach to polymer statistical mechanics is investigated by comparing results from a recently developed lattice mean-field theory (LMFT) method to statistically exact results from two independent numerical Monte Carlo simulations for the problems of a polymer chain moving in a spherical cavity and a polymer chain partitioning between two confining spheres of different radii. It is shown that in some cases the agreement between the LMFT and t...

Based on the analogy with the quantum mechanics of a particle propagating in a {\em complex} potential, we develop a field-theoretical description of the statistical properties of a self-avoiding polymer chain in a random environment. We show that the account of the non-Hermiticity of the quantum Hamiltonian results in a qualitatively different structure of the effective action, compared to previous studies. Applying the renormalisation group analysis, we find a transition be...

We investigate the phase behaviour of random copolymers melts via large scale Monte Carlo simulations. We observe macrophase separation into A and B--rich phases as predicted by mean field theory only for systems with a very large correlation lambda of blocks along the polymer chains, far away from the Lifshitz point. For smaller values of lambda, we find that a locally segregated, disordered microemulsion--like structure gradually forms as the temperature decreases. As we in...

We introduce a stable and efficient complex Langevin (CL) scheme to enable the first numerical simulations of the coherent-states (CS) formulation of polymer field theory. In contrast with Edwards' well known auxiliary-field (AF) framework, the CS formulation does not contain an embedded non-linear, non-local functional of the auxiliary fields, and the action of the field theory has a fully explicit, finite-order and semi-local polynomial character. In the context of a polyme...

Local chain structure and local environment play an important role in the dynamics of polymer chains in miscible blends. In general, the friction coefficients that describe the segmental dynamics of the two components in a blend differ from each other and from those of the pure melts. In this work, we investigate polymer blend dynamics with Monte Carlo simulations of a generalized bond-fluctuation model, where differences in the interaction energies between non-bonded nearest...

We present a hybrid numerical method to introduce hydrodynamics in dynamic self-consistent field (SCF) studies of inhomogeneous polymer systems. It solves a set of coupled dynamical equations: The Navier-Stokes equations for the fluid flow, and SCF-based convection-diffusion equations for the evolution of the local monomer compositions. The Navier-Stokes equaitons are simulated by the lattice Boltzmann method and the dynamic self-consistent equations are solved by a finite di...

We present a quantitative comparison between extensive Monte Carlo simulations and self-consistent field calculations on the phase diagram and wetting behavior of a symmetric, binary (AB) polymer blend confined into a film. The flat walls attract one component via a short range interaction. The critical point of the confined blend is shifted to lower temperatures and higher concentrations of the component with the lower surface free energy. The binodals close the the critical...