Microscopic theory of the structure, thermodynamics, and apparentχparameter of polymer blends

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

A general off-lattice microscopic theory of the equilibrium properties of polymer mixtures is developed based on reference interaction site model integral equation methods. A derivation of a random-phase-approximation--like scattering function is presented along with a fully microscopic, general formula for the effective {χ} parameter measured in small-angle neutron-scattering experiments. Numerical results for {χ} of an athermal, Gaussian-chain--polymer binary blend are presented as a function of concentration, packing fraction, molecular weight, and structural asymmetry.