Identifying A Critical Micelle Temperature In Simulations Of Disordered Asymmetric Diblock Copolymer Melts

Experiments on asymmetric diblock copolymers at temperatures slightly above the order-disorder transition (ODT) temperature indicate the existence of a dense fluid of micelles. Molecular dynamics simulations are used here to identify a higher critical micelle temperature below which micelles appear. The onset of micellization occurs very near where self-consistent field theory predicts an ODT.