Application of mean-field theory to the spin casting of polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) blend films from toluene

Abstract The Flory-Huggins free energy of mixing is shown to be appropriate for the analysis of the temporal evolution of a ternary blend of polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) during spin-coating from toluene using an in-situ light scattering technique. For the range of concentrations studied, both the onset of film instability and the observation of a scattering ring occur at the same toluene volume fraction. The success of Flory-Huggins theory indicates that polymer chains retain random walk characteristics during spin-coating. It is also concluded that the thermodynamics of phase separation during film formation is independent of the initial solvent concentration.