A review of polymer dissolution

Polymer dissolution in solvents is an important area of interest in polymer science and engineering because of its many applications in industry such as microlithography, membrane science, plastics recycling, and drug delivery. Unlike nonpolymeric materials, polymers do not dissolve instantaneously, and the dissolution is controlled by either the disentanglement of the polymer chains or by the diffusion of the chains through a boundary layer adjacent to the polymer-solvent interface. This review provides a general overview of several aspects of the dissolution of amorphous polymers and is divided into four sections which highlight (1) experimentally observed dissolution phenomena and mechanisms reported to this date, (2) solubility behavior of polymers and their solvents, (3) models used to interpret and understand polymer dissolution, and (4) techniques used to characterize the dissolution process. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.