Theoretical and experimental study of dissolution of inhomogeneities formed during spinodal decomposition in polymer mixtures

Dissolution (mixing or melting) of inhomogeneities formed during spinodal decomposition in binary polymer mixtures is studied both experimentally and theoretically. The details of the dissolution experiment with time-resolved light scattering on polystyrene/ poly(vinylmethylether) are presented. The theoretical approach differs from that of Langer, Bar-on, and Miller in the way the fluctuations are treated in the nonlinear theory, and in the details of the calculations arising from the chain connectivity (polymer effect). The effect of mode coupling arising from nonlinearity on the relaxation rate is discussed. It is found both experimentally and theoretically that the wave number corresponding to peak intensity decreases in time asymptotically following a t^-0.5 power law.