Calculation of the (liquid + liquid) equilibrium of solutions of hyperbranched polymers with the lattice-cluster theory combined with an association model

The (liquid + liquid) equilibrium of solutions of hyperbranched polyesters is calculated with the lattice-cluster theory (LCT) combined with a chemical association model. The considered solvents are n-alkanes as well as propan-1-ol and butan-1-ol. The structure of the solvents is also considered in the framework of the LCT, assuming the solvent molecules as linear chains of several segments. For polymer solutions with the non-associating n-alkanes only the self association of the hyperbranched polymer molecules has to be considered by the chemical association lattice model (CALM). For the solutions of the type alcohol + hyperbranched polymer additionally the cross association is taken into account by a modified version of the extended chemical association lattice model (ECALM). The association effects are proved to influence strongly the phase equilibrium. Calculating the cloud-point curve and the critical point the polydispersity of the polymer samples is neglected. There is a reasonable agreement of the calculated curves with the experimental data taken from the literature.