Dispersions of colloidal rod-like particles, like tobacco mosaic or feline distemper viruses, cellulose nanocrystals, or boehmite rods, can demix into two or more coexisting phases upon addition of non-adsorbing polymers. This polymer-mediated phase separation is the result of excluded volume interactions between the polymers and the rods and can be described by Free Volume Theory (FVT). We extend FVT to predict the liquid crystalline phase behaviour of dispersions containing hard rods mixed with non-adsorbing polymers up to dense phases, including the smectic and crystal phase states. By only taking into account excluded volume interactions a remarkably rich phase behaviour is found. Among the results we find four- and five-phase coexistences. It will be discussed whether this finding contradicts the Gibbs’ phase rule in our system, from which a maximum of three coexisting phases is naively expected.

Phase behaviour of rod-polymer mixtures

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.