Abstract
Synopsis: Three-dimensional (3D) bicontinuous structures of binary polymer blends and block copolymers, selfassembling during the phase separation processes and/or the phase transition, have been directly observed using an emerging technology, i.e., “three-dimensional microscopy”. The 3D complicated morphologies were clearly observed by either laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) or by transmission electron microtomography (TEMT). A great deal of new structural information, which has never been obtained from conventional microscopy or various scattering methods, can be evaluated from the 3D volume data. The structural information obtained from 3D microscopy offers essential insight into the physics of non-linear non-equilibrium phenomena and the statistical mechanics of long chain molecules.
