Polymer miscibility, phase separation, morphological modifications and polymorphic transformations in dense fluids

This paper is a review of polymer solutions at high pressures with a focus on miscibility, phase separation and morphological modifications in supercritical or compressible dense fluids. The review is aimed at presenting an account of advances made over the past two decades while highlighting the challenges and opportunities for future developments. Even though a broad review is attempted, specific examples are selected mostly from those published in the journal of Supercritical Fluids or from research conducted in the author's laboratory. How the miscibility and phase separation considerations come into play in polymer synthesis, polymer modification, and polymer processing are emphasized. Recent advances made in morphological modifications and polymorphic transformations of polymers achieved by pressure or solvent tuning are discussed in more detail. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.