Analysis by phase titration of three-component systems containing two mutually immiscible components

A method, based on phase titration, for the analysis of ternary mixtures containing two mutually immiscible or partially miscible components is described. It can also be used for the determination of tie-lines. The method is illustrated by its application to the system consisting of benzene, cyclohexane and nitromethane.     

Phase-titration analysis of ternary mixtures containing mutually miscible components

A method, based on phase-titration, for the analysis of ternary mixtures composed of mutually miscible components is described. One of the components is determined by an independent chemical or physical means and its concentration in the original mixture then brought to a fixed value by adding a calculated amount of one of the three components. The resultant mixture is then titrated to the turbidimetric end-point with a titrant which is immiscible with one of the components and the composition of the sample is computed from a calibration curve. The method is illustrated by its application to benzene-methanol-acetic acid and benzene-toluene-acetic acid mixtures.     

Ternary upper-critical-solution-temperature behavior in a blend system comprising poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide), poly(4-methyl styrene), and polystyrene

 Upper-critical-solution-temperature (UCST) behavior in a ternary blend of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide), poly(4-methyl styrene), and polystyrene is reported. The as-cast ternary blend is immiscible at ambient conditions and comprises two different phases, and, however, turns into a miscible system above the “clarity point” ranging from 160 to 300 °C for different ternary compositions. The maximum clarity point is labeled as the UCST for the ternary system, which is about 295 °C. Above the clarity point, the originally immiscible ternary blend turned into one miscible phase. Owing to the thermodynamic UCST behavior and kinetic hindrance, the immiscible ternary polymer blend can be locked into a pseudo-miscible state if it is heated to a temperature above the clarity point followed by a rapid-cooling processing scheme. The quenched ternary blend can remain in a pseudo-miscible state as long as the service temperature does not exceed the glass-transition temperature of the blend. Received: 17 July 2001 Accepted: 3 October 2001     

Phase behavior and a modified Kwei equation for ternary polymer blends containing stereoregular PMMA

Previously, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was found to be almost immiscible with poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) regardless of tacticity of PMMA and casting solvent. Poly(vinyl phenol) (PVPh) was found successful previously in making immiscible atactic PMMA/PVAc miscible. In this investigation, tacticity effect of PMMA on a ternary composed of PMMA, PVAc and PVPh was studied. Isotactic PMMA ternary was shown to be miscible in all the studied compositions on the basis of single T_g observation. However, syndiotactic PMMA ternary demonstrated immiscibility at ca. 25% PVPh and miscibility was observed at higher PVPh concentrations. A modified Kwei equation based on the binary interaction parameters was proposed to describe the experimental T_g of the miscible ternary almost quantitatively.     

Non-iterative phase behavior model with application to surfactant flooding and limited compositional simulation

Hand's method is typically used to empirically calculate the equilibrium compositions for ternary systems between two liquid phases. Oil field application of Hand's method is generally limited to surfactant phase behavior with oil and brine, primarily because the excess oil and brine phases are nearly immiscible. Hand's method is not accurate to represent liquid–vapor equilibrium, especially as oil and gas become miscible. It also requires iterations, which means there is no guarantee of convergence.     

The prediction of isothermal phase equilibria for non-ideal multicomponent mixtures from heats of mixing

A method is presented for predicting both vapor—liquid and liquid—liquid equilibria for multicomponent mixtures using heat of mixing data for the constituent binary pairs together with pure component vapor pressures. Its application to two highly non-ideal hydrocarbon ternary systems is discussed. The parameters of the hybrid local composition model of Renon and Prausnitz, known as the NRTL equation, were evaluated from heat of mixing data for the three binary pairs in each of the two ternary systems. The parameters thus obtained were used in the multicomponent form of the NRTL equation to predict the ternary vapor—liquid equilibrium data for the completely miscible system cyclohexane(1)—n-heptane(2)—touluene(3) and for the partially miscible system acetonitrile(1)—benzene(2)—n-heptane(3) without the need for any ternary or higher order parameters.This method predicted compositions of the single phase region of the partially miscible ternary system with a standard deviation of 10%. It also predicted compositions for the fully miscible system with a standard deviation of 4.6%. Total pressure curves for the partially miscible and miscible ternaries were predicted with standard deviations of 6.6% and 4.5% respectively. Poor predictions of the binodal curve for the partially miscible region were obtained. The method offers a means of predicting the whole range of ternary phase equilibria for miscible systems.     

Surfactant-free microemulsions

Surfactants (or amphiphiles) are generally believed to be a necessary component of microemulsions. However, research has found that in the absence of traditional surfactants, microemulsions can also form in a ternary system of two immiscible fluids and an “amphi-solvent”. Such microemulsions are called “surfactant-free microemulsions” (SFMEs). The so-called amphi-solvent is a solvent that is completely or at least partially miscible with each of the two immiscible fluids. The structures and properties of SFMEs are similar to those of traditional surfactant-based microemulsions (SBMEs) to some extent. This review focuses on recent advances in SFMEs, including their phase behavior, structures, properties and potential applications.     

Miscibility enhancement and formation of interpenetrating spherulites in ternary blends of crystalline polymers

Miscible blends of three crystalline polymers, namely poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), poly(ethylene succinate) (PES), and poly(oxyethylene) (POE), exhibited interpenetrating spherulites, where a spherulite of one component grows inside the spherulites of other components. PBS and PES were immiscible above the melting points, T_m, of these substances, while ternary blends with POE showed miscibility, which depended on the molecular weight of POE. PBS and PES exhibited the same spherulitic growth process as in a miscible binary blend when they were crystallized from a homogeneous ternary melt. Spherulites of PBS, which is the highest‐T_m component, filled the whole volume first when a miscible ternary blend was quenched below T_m of POE, the lowest‐T_m component. Then, the blends showed either two types of crystallization processes. One was successive nucleation and growth of PES and POE spherulites, that is, PES nucleated and developed spherulites inside the PBS spherulites and then POE spherulites grew inside the interlocked spherulites of PBS and PES. The other was simultaneous growth and the formation of interpenetrating spherulites of PES and POE inside the PBS spherulites. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 706–711, 2010     

Crystallization behaviors of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(l-lactic acid) in their immiscible and miscible blends

By adjusting the molecular weight of the poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) component in poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)/PLLA blends, we investigated the crystallization behaviors of the two components in their immiscible and miscible 50:50 blends by real time infrared (IR) spectroscopy. In the immiscible PHB/PLLA blend, the stepwise crystallization of PHB and PLLA was realized at different crystallization temperatures. PLLA crystallizes first at a higher temperature (120 degrees C). Its crystallization mechanism from the immiscible PHB/PLLA melt is not affected by the presence of the PHB component, while its crystallization rate is substantially depressed. Subsequently, in the presence of crystallized PLLA, the isothermal melt-crystallization of PHB takes place at a lower temperature (90 degrees C). It is interesting to find that there are two growth stages for PHB. At the early stage of the growth period, the Avrami exponent is 5.0, which is unusually high, while in the late stage, it is 2.5, which is very close to the reported value (n approximately 2.5) for the neat PHB system. In contrast to the stepwise crystallization of PHB and PLLA in the immiscible blends, the almost simultaneous crystallization of PHB and PLLA in the miscible 50:50 blend was observed at the same crystallization temperature (110 degrees C). Detailed dynamic analysis by IR spectroscopy has disclosed that, even in such apparently simultaneous crystallization, the crystallization of PLLA actually occurs faster than that of PHB. It has been found that, both in the immiscible and miscible blends, the crystallization dynamics of PHB are heavily affected by the presence of crystallized PLLA.     

High temperature polymer blends: an overview of the literature

A review of work which has been performed on high temperature polymer blends is presented. The discussion is divided into miscible and immiscible blends. It is pointed out that one problem with miscible polymer blends is that of processing in the miscible state. In the case of immiscible blends, particularly ones containing liquid crystal polymers, the issue of adhesion of the two phases is discussed. Finally, the need for better theoretical models for predicting miscibility in polymer blends is highlighted.     

Control of phase separation behavior of PC/PMMA blends and their application to the gas separation membranes

Gas transport and thermodynamic properties for the blends of polycarbonate (PC) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) were studied. To explore glass transition temperatures of blends and their phase separation temperatures due to a lower critical solution temperature, LCST, a type of phase boundary, transparent blend films that are miscible and do not contain solvent-induced PC crystals were prepared by controlling molecular weights of each component. The average value of interaction energy densities between PC and PMMA obtained from the phase boundaries and the equation of a state theory based on the lattice fluid model was 0.04 cal/cm³. This result confirmed that miscibility of PC and PMMA blends at equilibrium depends upon the molecular weights of components. Gas transport properties of miscible blends and immiscible blends having the same chemical components and composition but a difference in morphology were examined at 35°C and 1 atm for the gases N₂ and O₂. Permeability and apparent diffusion coefficients were ranked in the order of the immiscible blend having a domain–matrix structure > the immiscible blend having an interconnected structure > the miscible blend. These results might be related to the differences in the local chain motions that depend on the intermolecular mixing level. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 2950–2959, 1999     

Ternary blends of phenoxy/SAN/poly(-ε-caprolactone)

The compatibilizing effect of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) on the blends of two immiscible polymers, poly(hydroxy ether of bisphenol A) (phenoxy) and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) has been investigated. The phase behavior of the ternary blends was affected by the AN content in the SAN copolymers and a maximum miscible region was observed at 19.5 wt % of AN. The effect of AN content on the phase behavior of the ternary blends was interpreted in terms of the relative magnitude of the segmental interaction energy densities, which were obtained by combining a melting point depression and an extended binary interaction model. When a small amount of PCL was added to the phenoxy/SAN blends, the phase morphology showed a finer phase dispersion, indicating that the interfacial tension between the phenoxy and SAN is considerably reduced. However, the improvement in tensile properties was limited despite the morphological change with the PCL content. From the results of the DSC measurements, SEM, and tensile testing, it was understood that the PCL acted as a compatibilizer for the immiscible phenoxy/SAN blends. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Prediction of miscibility regions in ternary blends of poly(styrene-stat-acrylonitrile), poly(acrylonitrile-stat-methyl methacrylate), and poly(styrene-stat-methyl methacrylate)

The miscibilities of ternary copolymer blends prepared from poly(styrene-stat-acrylonitrile), poly(styrene-stat-methyl methacrylate), and poly(methyl methacrylate-stat-acrylonitrile) were predicted by calculating the interaction parameter, χ_blend, for various blend combinations, from the corresponding binary segmental interaction parameters estimated from previous work. Binodal and spinodal curves were calculated using the Flory-Huggins theory and it was observed that the most accurate estimate of the boundary between miscible and immiscible blends was given by the spinodal. It has also been demonstrated that in some of the ternary blends with fixed copolymer compositions the miscibility of the blend can be altered by changing the ratio of the three components in the mixture. Conditions for miscibility in this ternary system, and possibly a general feature of all such systems, are (a) that at least two of the binary interaction parameters χ_ij are less than the critical value χ_crit, while the third should not be too much larger, that is, one of the copolymers may act as a compatibilizer for the other two copolymers, (b) that the difference Δχ = /χ₁₂ ? χ₁₃/ is small. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A study of polymer blends by nonradiative energy transfer fluorescence spectroscopy

The nonradiative energy transfer (NRET) method has been used to study the miscibility of polymer blends in the solid state. This can be done by labeling the polymers with fluorescence donor and acceptor chromophores. The efficiency of energy transfer, which reveals the interpenetration of the chains, is measured by following changes in the fluorescence intensity ratio of the donor and acceptor as a function of the concentration of the polymer mixture and by comparison with reference values corresponding to totally miscible and totally immiscible systems. It is shown that the reference ratio corresponding to the absence of energy transfer must be determined by using donor-labeled and acceptor-labeled polymer films, instead of making measurements in chromophore solutions in organic solvents, as has usually been done. It is also shown that fluorescence quenching is important in such studies, since it can lead to variations of the fluorescence intensity ratio by more than an order of magnitude; this factor varies with blend concentration and is particularly sensitive to the presence of halogen atoms. The NRET technique has been applied to several PVC/CPVC binary blends and to PCL/PVC/CPVC ternary blends in which PVC and CPVC were labeled by naphthalene and anthracene, respectively [PCL is poly(ε-caprolactone), PVC is poly(vinyl chloride), and CPVC is chlorinated PVC]. For binary blends, the measured intensity ratios indicate the immiscibility of PVC with CPVC, although there is nonnegligible energy transfer between the two phases. For ternary blends, the intensity ratios indicate that the addition of up to 40 wt % of PCL to the immiscible PVC/CPVC binary system leads to the formation of two coexisting PCL/PVC and PCL/CPVC phases.     

几种典型固体聚合物体系的~（13）C自旋－晶格弛豫特性

用固体高分辨ＮＭＲ系统地研究了几种典型的均聚物，共聚物，聚合物共混物以及用接枝共聚物增容的不相容聚合物共混体系的１３Ｃ自旋－晶格弛豫特性。研究结果表明：１３Ｃ自旋－晶格弛豫时间（Ｔ１（Ｃ））是表征固体聚合物体系的很有用参数，它能提供有关本体聚合物微观形态结构的信息，并可望建立聚合物的微观结构与宏观性能的关系，它不仅能准确无误地反映共混体系中可能存在的各种相互作用，而且能定性地给出相互作用的大小和准确地指明相互作用产生的位置，因而为揭示共混体系的相容机理提供了最直接的证据，另外Ｔ１（Ｃ）还能给出增容剂对不相容共混体系的增容作用和增容机制的直接实验证据     

Compatibility and thermodynamic interaction in random copolymer blends

Some random copolymer blends have been found to be miscible in a certain range of copolymer composition even though any combinations of their corresponding homopolymers are not miscible. The opposite case may exist. These two types of miscibility behaviors have been called miscibility and immiscibility windows, respectively. Such two miscibility behaviors were discussed by application of the equation-of-state theory to copolymer systems. The equation-of-state theory gives two kinds of temperature dependences of the interaction parameter X: (a) a U-shaped curve which is always positive regardless of temperature and (b) a function increasing monotonically from negative to positive values. Infinite molecular weight polymer blends are immiscible over all the temperature in the case (a), while in the case (b) two polymers are miscible below a temperature at which X=0. Applying the equation-of-state theory to random copolymer blends in which miscibility changes with the copolymer composition at a certain temperature to be immiscible → miscible → immiscible, two types of dependences of the temperature-X curve can be obtained: (1) (a) → (b) → (a) dependent on the copolymer composition and (2) (b) regardless of the copolymer composition. For the blends in which miscibility changes with the copolymer composition to be miscible → immiscible → miscible, there can be two types: (3) (b) → (a) → (b) and (4) (b) regardless of the copolymer composition. It may be concluded that socalled miscibility and immiscibility windows should be defined by the types (1) and (3), respectively. The equation-of-state theory for random copolymer systems was applied to the real systems. The blends of poly(vinyl acetate-co-vinyl chloride) and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) were of the type (1), while it was suggested that the blends of poly(vinyl acetate-co-vinyl chloride) and poly(isobutyl methacrylate-co- butyl methacrylate) may be of the type (4) though this system behaved like an immiscibility window at a certain temperature.     

Modeling of Dispersed-Emulsion Separation Systems

A dispersed-emulsion separation system is a type or configuration of liquid-membrane separation systems. Such systems are comprised of three liquid phases: two of these liquid phases are miscible with each other but are separated by a third liquid phase (the membrane) which is immiscible with both. The interfaces may be stabilized by a surfactant. Mass is transferred from one of the miscible phases across the liquid membrane to the second miscible phase. These systems were introduced by Li^1,2.     

Structure and properties for binary blends of isotactic-polypropylene with ethylene-α-olefin copolymer. 1. Crystallization and morphology

Morphology and isothermal growth rates of spherulites for the binary blends consisting of an isotactic polypropylene (i-PP) and an ethylene-1-hexene rubber (EHR) were examined as a function of the crystallization temperature ranging from 388 K to 418 K. In this study, two types of EHR's were employed: “ethylene rich” EHR and “1-hexene rich” EHR. The blends of i-PP with the EHR of 51 mol % 1-hexene are miscible in the molten state, whereas the blends with the EHR of 33 mol % 1-hexene are immiscible in the molten state. It is found that the isothermal spherulite growth rate of the miscible i-PP/EHR blends decreases with increasing the EHR fraction, whereas the spherulite growth rate of the immiscible i-PP/EHR blends is independent of the blend composition and is the same as that of the i-PP. Optical microscope observation of the miscible blends crystallized isothermally shows that there are no rubber domains either in the intraspherulitic or in the interspherulitic contact regions. On the other hand, the immiscible i-PP/EHR blends show a phase-separated morphology. Furthermore, the number of tangential lamellae of the miscible i-PP/EHR blends is found to be increased by blending of the EHR, leading to the spherulite with negative birefringence. The sign of birefringence of spherulites is unaffected by the regime transition as well as by the fold surface free energy. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 953–961, 1997