Communications to the Editor Diffusion-Controlled Reactive Coupling at Polymer-Polymer Interfaces

Reactive coupling of an end-functionalized polymer A with another end- or chain-functionalized polymer B at an A-B interface is technologically referred to as reactive compatibilization. It is a proven means by which to reduce interfacial tension and improve adhe-sion between domains in polymer blends.1 In reactive systems, whether small-molecule or macromolecular in nature, the two regimes that generally describe the rate-limiting mechanism of the reaction are classified as diffusion- and reaction-controlled (DC and RC, respec-tively) regimes.2 A dimensionless Damkohler number (NDa) as defined below can be used to determine which regime dominates a particular reaction.3 Here, ôM and ôR are the characteristic time scales for mass transfer and reaction, respectively. This can b