Aggregation of Hydroxypropyl Cellulose in Dilute Solutions with Salt Ions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15407/ujpe71.6.529Keywords:
hydroxypropyl cellulose, salt ions, aggregation, Cahn–Hilliard equationAbstract
The kinetics of the phase transition in an aqueous solution of hydroxypropyl cellulose with salt ions have been studied using mathematical modeling. Based on the nonlinear Cahn–Hilliard equation with a stochastic term, the hydrophobicity parameter, and the mobility parameter depending on the polymer concentration, the phase separation on a simple one-dimensional Flory lattice was simulated. Data on changes in the average sizes and masses of aggregates were obtained for a set of hydrophobicity parameter values. The simulation results allowed the distinction of three stages of spinodal decomposition: early, intermediate, and final. It was found that the kinetics of cluster mass growth at the intermediate and final stages are described by scaling dependencies, with the power exponents and the crossover time determining the transition from the mode of aggregate mass accumulation driven by surface tension effects to the diffusion mode. It was shown that the variation of the average cluster size can be approximated by a scaling function with a power exponent close to 1/3, which is typical of systems with a conservative scalar order parameter. From the results of computer simulation, it follows that the growth of the interfacial energy density (the enhancement of hydrophobic interactions) makes the size of polymer aggregates larger.
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