Fourier-transform analysis of the morphological patterns of phase separation in polymer systems

A method based on a two-dimensional discrete Fourier transformation is proposed for the analysis of morphological patterns imaging the phase structure of polymer systems. The Fourier-transform analysis of images markedly simplifies the extraction of information on the parameters of dispersed objects appearing upon the phase separation in a system studied. The proposed method provides highly local information, offers a simple means of obtaining a frequency spectrum of the initial morphological pattern, and allows the image to be filtered in order to reduce or increase the contributions of various spatial frequencies, with subsequent inverse transformation. The method is verified by analysis of the patterns observed for the polybutadiene-phthalic acid ether systems.