Full Rheological Characterization of Polymeric Bicontinuous Microemulsions. In collaboration with W. Burghardt at the Northwestern MRSEC, the remarkable rheological properties of the novel state of matter, the all-polymer bicontinuous microemulsion, have been characterized and correlated with structure as reveled by in situ neutron, x-ray and light scattering, and microscopy. The linear viscoelastic properties and shear thinning response have been compared in detail to modern theory, and limits to the model have been revealed. The rich transient response associated with flow induced phase separation has also been delineated. [K. Krishnan, K. Almdal, T.P. Lodge, F.S. Bates, and W. Burghardt, Phys. Rev. Lett. 2001, 87, 09830; K. Krishnan, B. Chapman, F.S. Bates, T.P. Lodge, K. Almdal, and W. R. Burghardt, J. Rheol.2002, 46, 529; W.R. Burghardt, K. Krishnan, F.S. Bates, and T.P. Lodge, Macromolecules, in press]

Four regimes of flow response of a BmE and the corresponding hypothe­sized fluid structures (insets).