Miscibility of cellulose acetate with vinyl polymers

Binary blend films of cellulose acetate (CA) with flexible syntheticpolymers including poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc), poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP),and poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) [P(VP-co-VAc)] were preparedfrommixed polymer solutions by solvent evaporation. Thermal analysis by DSC showedthat CA of any degree of substitution (DS) was not miscible with PVAc, but CAwith DS less than 2.8 was miscible with PVP to form homogeneous blends. Thestate of mixing in CA/P(VP-co-VAc) blends was affected not only by the DS of CAbut also by the VP/VAc copolymer composition. As far as CAs of DS<2.8 andP(VP-co-VAc)s with VP contents more than ca. 25 mol% were used,theCA/copolymer blends mostly showed a miscible behaviour irrespective of themixing ratio. FT-IR measurements for the miscible blends of CA/PVP andCA/P(VP-co-VAc) revealed the presence of hydrogen-bonding interactions betweenresidual hydroxyls of CA and carbonyls of N-vinyl pyrrolidone units, which maybe assumed to largely contribute to the good miscibility.     

Interaction and Scale of Mixing in Cellulose Acetate/Poly(<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-vinyl Pyrrolidone-co-vinyl Acetate) Blends

Binary blends and pseudo complexes of cellulose acetate (CA) with vinyl polymers containing N-vinyl pyrrolidone (VP) units, poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) [P(VP-co-VAc)], were prepared, respectively, by casting from mixed polymer solutions in N,N-dimethylformamide as good solvent and by spontaneous co-precipitation from solutions in tetrahydrofuran as comparatively poor solvent. The scale of miscibility and intermolecular interaction were examined for the blends and complexes by solid-state ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. It was revealed that the formation of complexes was due to a higher frequency of hydrogen-bonding interactions between the residual hydroxyl groups of CA and the carbonyl groups of VP residues in the vinyl polymer component. From measurements of CP/MAS spectra and proton spin-lattice relaxation times (T_1ρ^H) in the NMR study, the existence of the hydrogen-bonding interaction was also confirmed for the miscible blends and the homogeneity of the mixing was estimated to be substantially on a scale within a few nanometers.     

Cellulose alkyl ester/poly(<Emphasis Type="Italic">ε</Emphasis>-caprolactone) blends: characterization of miscibility and crystallization behaviour

Cellulose valerate (CV)/poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) blends were investigated to clarify the effect of the degree of substitution (DS) of the cellulose ester component on the miscibility. CVs of DS > 2.15 were miscible with PCL in their amorphous states, as judged from the detection of a single T _g by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This result and other complementary data for cellulose acetate (CA), propionate (CP), and butyrate (CB) blends with PCL made up a miscibility map as a function of the number N of carbons in the normal acyl substituent as well as of DS. CB of N = 4 and CV of N = 5, the ester side-chains of which make a higher similarity in chemical structure with a repeating unit of PCL, were found to be miscible with the aliphatic polyester at a comparatively lower DS; the critical butyryl DS of ∼1.85 being still lower than 2.15. For PCL-rich compositions of CB(DS > 2.0)/PCL and CV(DS > 2.2)/PCL blends, isothermal melt-crystallization behaviour was characterized by calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy. The CB and CV components gave rise to a marked diminution of the crystallization rate of PCL, as a result of the diluent action of the cellulose esters in the respective miscible, molten mixtures. Through a quantitative analysis of the kinetics, it is suggested regarding the supramolecular morphology that the bulky cellulose esters would be trapped not only on the fold surfaces but also on the growth faces of PCL lamellar crystals, to form a non-crystalline mixed polymer phase in the crystal boundary regions.     

Cellulose propionate/poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) blends: dependence of the miscibility on propionyl DS and copolymer composition

Blend miscibility of cellulose propionate (CP) with synthetic copolymers comprising N-vinyl pyrrolidone (VP) and vinyl acetate (VAc) units was examined, and a data map was constructed as a function of the degree of substitution (DS) of CP and the VP fraction in the copolymer component. Results of differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared measurements indicated that the pairing of CP/P(VP-co-VAc) formed a miscible or immiscible blend system according to the balance in effectiveness of the following factors: (1) hydrogen bonding between residual hydroxyls of CP and VP carbonyls of P(VP-co-VAc); (2) steric hindrance of propionyl side-groups to the interaction specified in (1); (3) intramolecular repulsion between the two units constituting the vinyl copolymer; and, additionally, (4) structural affinity between two segmental moieties involving the propionyl group and VAc unit, respectively. The factor 3 inducing intercomponent attraction is responsible for the appearance of a so-called “miscibility window” in the miscibility map, and the factor 4 substantially expands the miscible region whole, wider relative to those in the maps for the corresponding blend series based on cellulose acetate and butyrate. In further refined estimation by dynamic mechanical analysis and T _1ρ ^H quantification in solid-state ¹³C NMR, it was found that the miscible blends of hydrogen-bonding type (using CPs of DS < 2.7) were completely homogeneous on a scale within a few nanometers, whereas the polymer pairs situated in the window region (using CPs of DS > 2.7) formed blends exhibiting a somewhat larger size of heterogeneity (ca. 5–20 nm).     

FT‐IR Investigation into the miscible interactions in new materials for optical devices

In this article we determine the miscibility of azobenzene derivative (poly(4‐(N‐(2‐methacryloyloxyethyl)‐N‐ethylamino)‐4′‐nitroazobenzene)₉₀‐co‐(methyl methacrylate)₁₀)/poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and azobenzene derivative/poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) blends using Fourier Transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy. With this method we can clearly identify the exact interactions responsible for miscibility. In the azobenzene derivative 50:50PVAc blend new peaks were evident at 2960, 2890, 1237 and 959 cm^?1, these peaks depict miscible interactions. These wavenumbers indicate that the miscible interactions occurring are from the C? H stretching band, the vinyl acetate C?O, conjugated to the ester carbonyl, the cis‐transformation N?N stretch frequency and the acetate ester weak doublet. The azobenzene derivative 80:20PVC blend display peaks identical in profile to the blend homopolymers, indicating no miscible interactions. However, this could be due to overlapping of peaks within the same wavenumber region, making resolution difficult. This research demonstrates FT‐IR can deduce favorable interactions for miscibility and therefore numerous miscible blends can successfully be calculated if possessing the same groups responsible for miscibility. This paves the way for a new generation of designer optical materials with the desired properties. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cellulose acetate butyrate as multifunctional additive for poly(butylene succinate) by melt blending: Mechanical properties, biomass carbon ratio, and control of biodegradability

We have evaluated the plasticizing effect of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB). PBS and CAB were mixed with a melt-kneading machine. The tensile strength and strain at break in the case of the blend with 10% CAB in the PBS matrix were 547% and 35 MPa. It showed that CAB acted as a plasticizer for PBS. The biomass carbon ratio of the blends measured by accelerator mass spectrometry based on ASTM D6866 showed that the biomass carbon derived from a part of the CAB corresponded to the theoretical value of the polymer blend. The biodegradation of PBS with the CAB melt blend powders was evaluated by a microbial oxidative degradation analyzer under controlled compost conditions based on ISO 14855-2. PBS with 10% CAB was not degraded within 60 days due to the addition of CAB that could control the biodegradability of the PBS.     

Interactions and prediction of phase diagrams in ternary blends comprising poly(vinyl acetate), poly(vinyl p‐phenol), and poly(methyl methacrylate)

This study investigated and discovered a new miscible ternary blend system comprising three amorphous polymers: poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc), poly(vinyl p‐phenol) (PVPh), and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) using thermal analysis and optical and scanning electron microscopies. The ternary compositions are largely miscible except for a small region of borderline ternary miscibility near the side, where the binary blends of PVAc/PMMA are originally of a borderline miscibility with broad T_g. In addition to the discovering miscibility in a new ternary blend, another objective of this study was to investigate whether the introduction of a third polymer component (PVPh) with hydrogen bonding capacity might disrupt or enhance the metastable miscibility between PVAc and PMMA. The PVPh component does not seem to exert any “bridging effect” to bring the mixture of PVAc and PMMA to a better state of miscibility; neither does the Δχ effect seem to disrupt the borderline miscible PVAc/PMMA blend into a phase‐separated system by introducing PVPh. Apparently, the ternary is able to remain in as a miscible state as the binary systems owing to the fact that PVPh is capable of maintaining roughly equal H‐bonding interactions with either PVAc or PMMA in the ternary mixtures to maintain balanced interactions among the ternary mixtures. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1147–1160, 2006     

COMPATIBILITY IN POLYMER BLENDS OF POLY (VINYL ACETATE) AND POLY (METHYL METHACRYLATE)STUDIED BY NMR

Compatibility of poly (vinyl acetate) (PVAc) with poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) mixtures has been studied by using nuclear magnetic relaxation, differential scanning calorimeter and small-angle X-ray scattering techniques. The nuclear magnetic relaxation time T_1's were measured as a function of composition in blends of PMMA and PVAc prepared from chloroform solution. The results show that the system is miscible for casting from chloroform solution.     

The miscibility of poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) blends investigated in dilute solutions and solids

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) (polymer A) and poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) (polymer B) are known to form a thermodynamically miscible pair. In the present study the conclusion on miscibility of PVA/PVP solid blends, confirmed qualitatively (DMTA, FTIR) and quantitatively (DSC, χ_AB = − 0.69 at 503 K) is compared with the miscibility investigations of PVA/PVP solution blends by the technique of dilute solution viscometry. The miscibility of the ternary (polymer A/ polymer B/ solvent) system is estimated on the basis of experimental and ideal values of the viscosity parameters k, b and [η]. It is found that the conclusions on miscibility or nonmiscibility drawn from viscosity measurements in dilute solution blends depend: (i) on the applied extrapolation method used for the determination of the viscosity interaction parameters, (ii) on the assumed definition of the ideal values and (iii) on the thermodynamic quality of the solvent, which in the case of PVA depends on its degree of hydrolysis. Hence, viscometric investigations of dilute PVA/PVP solution blends have revealed that viscometry, widely used in the literature for estimation of polymer-polymer miscibility can not be recommended as a sole method to presume the miscibility of a polymer pair.     

Effect of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) on thermal behavior and mechanical properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(propylene carbonate) (PHB/PPC) blends

To assess the compatibility of blends of synthetic poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC), with a natural bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), a simple casting procedure of blend was used. poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(propylene carbonate) blends are found to be incompatible according to DSC and DMA analysis. In order to improve the compatibility and mechanical properties of PHB/PPC blends, poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) was added as a compatibilizer. The effects of PVAc on the thermal behavior, morphology, and mechanical properties of 70PHB/30PPC blend were investigated. The results show that the melting point and the crystallization temperature of PHB in blends decrease with the increase of PVAc content in blends, the loss factor changes from two separate peaks of 70PHB/30PPC blend to one peak of 70PHB/30PPC/12PVAc blend. It is also found that adding PVAc into 70PHB/30PPC blend can decrease the size of dispersed phase from morphology analysis. The result of tensile properties shows that PVAc can increase the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of 70PHB/30PPC blend, and both the elongation at break and the tensile toughness increase significantly with PVAc added into 70PHB/30PPC.     

聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯与聚醋酸乙烯酯共混的红外光谱研究

用红外光谱(FTIR)研究了聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)与聚醋酸乙烯酯(PVAc)共混体系相容性,在160℃以上共混体系发生相分离;分相体系与非分相体系的FTIR谱明显不同;共混体系的FTIR谱不能从两统组分红外光谱简单加和得到;结果表明大分子构象发生了变化,PMMA/PVAc体系相容可能是大分子构象熵变所致。     

Effect of Molecular Structure on the GasPermeability of Cellulose Aliphatate Esters简

In this work, four kinds of cellulose aliphatate esters, cellulose acetate （CA）, cellulose propionate （CP）, cellulose butyrate （CB） and cellulose acetate butyrate （CAB） are synthesized by the homogeneous acylation reactions in cellulose/AmimC1 solutions. These cellulose aliphatate esters are used to prepare gas separation membranes and the effects of molecular structure, such as substituent type, degree of substitution （DS） and distribution of substituents, on the gas permeability are studied. For CAs, as the DS increases, their gas permeabilities for all five gases （02, N2, CH4, CO and CO2） increase, and the ideal permselectivity significantly increases first and then slightly decreases. At similar DS value, the homogenously synthesized CA （distribution order of acetate substituent： C6 〉 C3 〉 C2） is superior to the heterogeneously synthesized CA （distribution order of acetate substituent： C3 〉 C2 〉 C6） in gas separation. With the increase of chain length of aliphatate substituents from acetate to propionate, and to butyrate, the gas permeability of cellulose aliphatate esters gradually increases. The cellulose mixed ester CAB with short acetate groups and relatively long butyrate groups exhibits higher gas permeability or better permselectivity than individual CA or CB via the alteration of the DS of two substituents.     

Study of the miscibility of poly(vinyl pyridines) with poly(vinyl acetate), poly(vinyl alcohol) and their copolymers

Miscibility of poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) and poly(2-vinyl pyridine) (P2VP) with poly(viny acetate) (PVAc), poly(vinyl alcohol) PVA and poly(vinyl acetate-co-alcohol) (ACA copolymers) has been investigated over a wide composition range. Differentiaal scanning calorimetry (DSC) results indicate that P2VP is immiscible with PVAC, PVA, and their copolymers over the whole composition range. In turn, P4VP appears to be immiscible with PVAC and PVA, but miscible with some ACA copolymers in certain range of composition. The P4VP-ACA phase diagram for different copolymer compositions has been determined. The variation of the glass transition temperature with composition for miscible mixtures was found to follow the Gordon-Taylor equation, with the parameter κ dependent upon copolymer composition. FTIR analysis of blends reveal the existence of specific interactions via hydrogen bonding between hydroxyl groups and the nitrogen of the pyridinic ring, which appear to be decisive for miscibility. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

醋酸纤维素／聚乙烯基吡咯烷酮共混体系的相容性研究（Ⅰ）

用ＤＳＣ，ＤＭＴＡ研究了醋酸纤维素（ＣＤＡ），聚乙烯基吮咯烷酮（ＰＶＰ）及ＣＤＡ／ＰＶＰ共混体系的玻璃化转变行为．用精密量热法测定了该体系的混合热焓．结果表明：共混体系只存在一个玻璃化转变温度（Ｔｇ），其值随共混组成的变化而改变；共混体系的混合热焓为负值，其绝对值随组成中ＰＶＰ含量的增加而减少．力学性能研究表明，共混体系具有协同效应．上述试验结果证明，ＣＤＡ和ＰＶＰ是一对相容性高聚物．     

Miscibility,morphology and fracture toughness of epoxy resin/poly(vinyl acetate) blends

Diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)/poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) blends cured with 4,4-diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM) were prepared. The miscibility and phase behavior were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The study results indicate that the epoxy precursor (DGEBA)/PVAc blends are clearly miscible at the entire composition and theTg values experimentally obtained are in a good agreement with those predicted by Fox equation. Cured at elevated temperature, all the DDM-cured blends underwent phase separation and display two-phase morphology. When PVAc content is more than 10 wt%, the thermoplastics-modified resins began to show a co-continuous phase structure. It is the cocontinuous structure that leads to a significantly-improved toughness inK _ic. Morphologic investigation of the surfaces of fracture mechanic measurement specimens indicates that the toughening effect of the thermoplastics-modified epoxy resins may arise mainly from the ductile yielding of PVAc.     

Synthesis and characters of hyperbranched poly(vinyl acetate) by RAFT polymeraztion

Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of VAc in the presence of ECTVA, which capable of both reversible chain transferable through a xanthate moiety and propagation via a vinyl group, led to highly branched copolymers by a method analogous to self-condensing vinyl polymerization (SCVP). The ECTVA acted as a vinyl acetate AB^∗ inimer. It was copolymerized with vinyl acetate (VAc) in ratios selected to tune the distribution and length of branches of resulting hyperbranched poly(vinyl acetate). The degree of branching increased with chain ECTVA concentration, as confirmed by NMR spectroscopy. The polymer structure was characterized via MALDI–TOF. Retention of the xanthate compound during the polymerization was evidenced by successful chain extension of a branched (PVAc) macroCTA by RAFT polymerization. The branched PVAc led to better dissolution as compared to linear PVAc, an effect attributed primarily to an increased contribution of end groups.     

Mechanical properties and morphology of epoxy/poly(vinyl acetate)/poly(4-vinyl phenol) brominated system

Diglycidyl ether of bisfenol-A (DGEBA)/poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc)/poly(4-vinyl phenol) brominated (PVPhBr) ternary blends cured with 4,4’-diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM) were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Homogeneous (DGEBA+DDM)/PVPhBr networks with a unique T _g are generated. Ternary blends (DGEBA+DDM)/PVAc/PVPhBr are initially miscible and phase separate upon curing arising two T _gs that correspond to a PVAc-rich phase and to epoxy network phase. Increasing the PVPhBr content the T _gof the PVAc phase move to higher temperatures as a consequence of the PVAc-PVPhBr interactions. Different morphologies are generated as a function of the blend composition.     

Phase behavior and crystallization of a poly(ethylene oxide)/cellulose acetate butyrate blend

The phase behavior of a partially miscible blend of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) and the crystalline microstructure of PEO in the blend were studied with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), optical microscopy, and synchrotron small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) methods. PEO/CAB showed a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 168 °C at the critical composition of PEO of 60 wt %. All blend compositions showed a single glass‐transition temperature (T_g) when they were prepared at temperatures lower than the LCST. However, with increasing CAB content, T_g of the blend changed abruptly at 70 wt % CAB; that is, a cusp existed. Below 70 wt % CAB, the change in T_g with blend composition was predicted by the Brau–Kovacs equation, whereas this change was predicted by the Fox equation at higher CAB contents. A gradual but small depression of the melting point of PEO in the blend with an increasing amount of CAB suggested that the PEO/CAB blends exhibited a weak intermolecular interaction. From DSC and SAXS experiments, it was found that amorphous CAB was incorporated into the interlamellar region of PEO for blends with less than 20 wt % CAB, whereas it was segregated to exist in the interfibrillar region in PEO for other blends with larger amounts of CAB. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 1673–1681, 2002     

Viscometric study of poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(vinyl acetate) blends in various solvents

The intermolecular interactions between poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) in tetrahydrofuran (THF), methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and N,N^′-dimethylformamide (DMF) were thoroughly investigated by the viscosity measurement. It has been found that the solvent selected has a great influence upon the polymer-polymer interactions in solution. If using PVAc and THF, or PVAc and DMF to form polymer solvent, the intrinsic viscosity of PVC in polymer solvent of (PVAc+THF) or (PVAc+DMF) is less than in corresponding pure solvent of THF or DMF. On the contrary, if using PVAc and MEK to form polymer solvent, the intrinsic viscosity of PVC in polymer solvent of (PVAc+MEK) is larger than in pure solvent of MEK. The influence of solvent upon the polymer-polymer interactions also comes from the interaction parameter term Δb, developed from modified Krigbaum and Wall theory. If PVC/PVAc blends with the weight ratio of 1/1 was dissolved in THF or DMF, Δb<0. On the contrary, if PVC/PVAc blends with the same weight ratio was dissolved in MEK, Δb>0. These experimental results show that the compatibility of PVC/PVAc blends is greatly associated with the solvent from which polymer mixtures were cast. The agreement of these results with differential scanning calorimetry measurements of PVC/PVAc blends casting from different solvents is good.     

Pyrolysis mass spectrometry analysis of polycarbonate/poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(vinyl acetate) ternary blends

Direct insertion probe pyrolysis mass spectrometry (DIP-MS) analyses of polycarbonate/poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(vinyl acetate), (PC/PMMA/PVAc), ternary blends have been performed. The PC/PMMA/PVAc ternary blends were obtained by coalescing from their common γ-cyclodextrin-inclusion compounds (CD-ICs), through the removal of the γ-CD host (coalesced blend), and by a co-precipitation method (physical blend). The coalesced ternary blend showed different thermal behaviors compared to the co-precipitated physical blend. The stability of PC chains decreased due to the reactions of CH₃COOH formed by deacetylation of PVAc above 300 °C, for both coalesced and physical blends. This process was more effective for the physical blend most likely due to the enhanced diffusion of CH₃COOH into the amorphous PC domains, where it can further react producing low molecular weight PC fragments bearing methyl carbonate chain ends. The decrease in thermal stability of PC chains was less significant for the coalesced ternary blend indicating that the diffusion of CH₃COOH was either somewhat limited or competed with intermolecular reactions between PMMA and PC and between PMMA and PVAc, which were detected and were associated with their close proximity in the intimately mixed coalesced PC/PMMA/PVAc ternary blend.