Modeling Nucleation in Polymeric Foams using Self-Consistent Field Theory

Self-consistent field theory is a method in statistical mechanics that is effective for the study of inhomogeneous polymer structures, typically block copolymer self-assembly. Self-consistent field theory can also be used to understand some aspects of nucleation in polymer foaming, especially for nano-cellular foams. An introduction to this approach, including its advantages and disadvantages, will be given. Implications for the validity of classical nucleation theory and nucleation barriers from this perspective will be discussed, as will some new predictions related to heterogeneous nucleation.