Miscible blends of poly(vinyl phenyl ketone) and poly(4‐vinyl phenol)

An analysis by differential scanning calorimetry, modulated differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicates that blends of poly(vinyl phenyl ketone) (PVPhK) and poly(4‐vinyl phenol) (P4VPh) are miscible at ambient temperature. Miscibility, ascertained, is supported by the existence of a single glass transition for each composition of the PVPhK/P4VPh blends. The FTIR spectroscopy analysis demonstrates the formation of hydrogen bonds between carbonyl groups of PVPhK and hydroxyl groups of P4VPh. This specific interaction has a crucial role on the miscibility behavior of PVPhK/P4VPh blends. The evolution of the glass transition of the PVPhK, P4VPh, and its blends as a function of mixture composition shows negative deviations with to respect to the ideal mixing rule, and both Fox and Gordon–Taylor equations predict this behavior successfully. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2404–2411, 2006