Coarsening Dynamics in Cross-Linked Polymers

Mariapia Riva; Vincenzo Gino Benza

doi:doi:10.1051/jp2:1997125

Issue		J. Phys. II France Volume 7, Number 2, February 1997


Page(s)		285 - 294
DOI		https://doi.org/10.1051/jp2:1997125

DOI: 10.1051/jp2:1997125
J. Phys. II France 7 (1997) 285-294

Coarsening Dynamics in Cross-Linked Polymers

Mariapia Riva and Vincenzo Gino Benza

Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy, INFM, Unità di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy and INFN, Sezione di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy

(Received 9 May 1996, revised 25 September 1996, accepted 7 November 1996)

Abstract
We study the dynamics of a pure-phase domain in a quenched melt of crosslinked polymers. Starting from de Gennes's mean-field theory, we obtain a pinning down of the coarsening process at a characteristic scale, which depends both on the rigidity constant and on the depth of the quench. Relaxation to the microdomains exhibits a critical slowing down in a whole range of parameters: this reduces the stability region of the modulated phase.