Short-Range Order in Miscible Polymer Blends: A Monte Carlo Study

Local ordering in miscible binary polymer blends with strong attractive interactions betweenthe two types of chains was investigated by computer simulation of allowable conformationson an incompressible cubic lattice. A tendency toward maximum ordering (in which chainspack in alternate parallel rows) is shown by the calculation of pair correlations and in“snapshots” of the mixtures. A specific directional interaction is not necessarily requiredfor ordering. A comparison of these results with those recently obtained using mean-fieldtheory is presented. The heat capacity of mixing was also calculated and found to be positive,with a value close to that reported experimentally