Mesoscopic simulation on phase behavior of star-like block polyether solution in the absence and presence of shear

Abstract

The phase behavior of a kind of star-like block polyether in aqueous solution is studied by MesoDyn simulation method in the absence and presence of shear. With the polyether concentration increasing, different mesoscale structures are found in the absence and presence of shear. (1) In the absence of shear, there are four different structures formed with the increasing polyether concentration. The first is micellar phase, including sphere-like micelle and wormlike micelle, the second is bicontinuous phase, the third is lamellar phase, and the fourth is reversed micellar phase, including reversed worm-like micelle and reversed hexagonal micelle. (2) In the presence of shear, there are three morphologies formed in all studied concentrations; they are hexagonal phase, lamellar phase and reverse hexagonal phase, which align in the flow direction. The detailed structures and forming mechanisms of different aggregates are given by analyzing simulation results.