Specific interactions and phase behavior of ternary poly(2‐vinylpyridine)/poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone)/bisphenol A blends

Hydrogen‐bonding interactions between bisphenol A (BPA) and two proton‐accepting polymers, poly(2‐vinylpyridine) (P2VPy) and poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) (PVP), were examined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The Flory–Huggins interaction‐energy densities of BPA/P2VPy and BPA/PVP blends were determined by the melting point depression method. The interaction parameters for both BPA/P2VPy and BPA/PVP blend systems were negative, demonstrating the miscibility of BPA with P2VPy as well as PVP. The miscibility of ternary BPA/P2VPy/PVP blends was examined by DSC, optical observation, and solid‐state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The experimental phase behavior of the ternary blend system agreed with the spinodal phase‐separation boundary calculated using the determined interaction‐energy densities. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 1125–1134, 2002     

Melting behavior,miscibility, and hydrogen-bonded interactions of poly(ε-caprolactone)/poly(4-hydroxystyrene-co-methoxystyrene) blends

The miscibility of poly(4-hydroxystyrene-co-methoxystyrene) (HSMS) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). HSMS/PCL blends were found to be miscible in the whole composition range by detecting only a glass transition temperature (T_g), for each composition, which could be closely described by the Fox rule. The crystallinity of PCL in the blends was dependent on the T_g of the amorphous phase. The greater the HSMS content in the blends, the lower the crystallinity. The polymer–polymer interaction parameter, χ₃₂, was calculated from melting point depression of PCL using the Nishi-Wang equation. The negative value of χ₃₂ obtained for HSMS/PCL blends has been compared with the value of χ₃₂ for poly(4-hydroxystyrene) (P4HS)/PCL blends. The specific nature, quantitative analysis, and average strength of the intermolecular interactions in HSMS/PCL and P4HS/PCL blends have been determined at room temperature and in the molten state by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements. The FTIR results have been in good correlation with the thermal behavior of the blends. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36 : 95–104, 1998     

Preparation and phase behavior of poly(4‐trimethylsilylstyrene)‐block‐polyisoprene

Three poly(4‐trimethylsilylstyrene)‐block‐polyisoprenes (TIs), the molecular weights of which were 82,000, 152,000 and 291,000 (TI‐82K, TI‐152K, and TI‐291K), were synthesized by sequential anionic polymerizations. The component polymers were a miscible pair that presented a lower critical solution temperature phase diagram if blended. The TI phase behavior was investigated with transmission electron microscopy. The order–disorder transition could be observed at a temperature between 200 °C (the ordered state) and 150 °C (the disordered state) for the block copolymer TI‐152K. The block copolymer TI‐82K presented the disordered state at 200 °C, whereas TI‐291K was in the ordered state at 150 °C. With the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter between poly(4‐trimethylsilylstyrene) and polyisoprene, which was evaluated by small‐angle neutron scattering for the block copolymers, the TI phase behavior could be reasonably explained by mean‐field theory. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 1214–1219, 2005     

Viscoelastic properties and phase behavior of 12‐tert‐butyl ester dendrimer/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends

This study used refractometry, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and dielectric analysis to assess the viscoelastic properties and phase behavior of blends containing 0–20% (w/w) 12‐tert‐butyl ester dendrimer in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Dendritic blends were miscible up through 12%, exhibiting an intermediate glass‐transition temperature (T_g; α) between those of the two pure components. Interactions of PMMA C?O groups and dendrimer N? H groups contributed to miscibility. T_g decreased with increasing dendrimer content before phase separation. The dendrimer exhibited phase separation at 15%, as revealed by Rayleigh scattering in ultraviolet–visible spectra and the emergence of a second T_g in dielectric studies. Before phase separation, clear, secondary β relaxations for PMMA were observed at low frequencies via dielectric analysis. Apparent activation energies were obtained through Arrhenius characterization. A merged αβ process for PMMA occurred at higher frequencies and temperatures in the blends. Dielectric data for the phase‐separated dendrimer relaxation (α_D) in the 20% blend conformed to Williams–Landel–Ferry behavior, which allowed the calculation of the apparent activation energy. The α_D relaxation data, analyzed both before and after treatment with the electric modulus, compared well with neat dendrimer data, which confirmed that this relaxation was due to an isolated dendrimer phase. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 1381–1393, 2001     

Coarse‐grained molecular dynamics simulations of stereoregular poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(vinyl chloride) blends

The stereoregular poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(vinyl chloride) blends with a wide formulation range are extensively simulated using the coarse‐grained (CG) molecular dynamics (MD) method. To improve the representability, the bonded CG potentials are re‐parameterized against the atomistic simulated melt systems whereas the nonbonded CG potentials are adopted as developed in our previous work. Based on the CG potentials, the MD simulations reproduce all the local distributions of pure systems and the miscibility of mixed systems. Moreover, the global conformational properties are also closer to the target ones than those obtained using the previous CG potentials. The changes in density and volume upon mixing are computed together with the energies of mixing. They are all negative over the entire composition range and indicate stronger intermolecular interactions between distinct components than those between identical components. In particular, it is found that upon mixing the changes in density are insensible to chain tacticity but the changes in volume and the energies of mixing do, which quantitatively confirms that both inter‐molecular interactions and free‐volumes mainly contribute to the observed phase behaviors. Such models and methods reported herein can be used to quickly optimize formulations of polymer blends. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 203–212     

Self‐decelerated crystallization in poly(butylene terephthalate)/poly(ε‐caprolactone) blends

Isothermal crystallization of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) blended with oligomeric poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) is investigated by polarized optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry at various temperatures (T_c). The growth rate of PBT spherulites is found to depend on time (t), as the spherulite radius (r) linearly increases with t at the early stages of crystallization (r ∝ t), then, with the progress of phase transition, the spherulite radius becomes dependent on the square root of the time (r ∝ t^1/2) until termination of crystal growth. The nonlinear advance of the crystal growth front is caused by a varied composition of the melt phase in contact with the growing crystals, due to diffusion of mobile PCL chains away from the spherulite surface. The melt phase becomes spatially inhomogeneous, causing self‐deceleration of PBT crystallization until a limit composition that prevents further crystallization is reached in the melt. The maximum crystallinity achievable during isothermal crystallization decreases with T_c. The lowering of the temperature after termination of the isothermal crystallization allows to complete the crystal growth, but the final developed crystallinity still depends on T_c, being lower at higher T_cs. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 3148–3155, 2007     

Self‐assembled complexes of poly(acrylic acid) and poly(styrene)‐block‐poly(4‐vinyl pyridine)

Polymer complexes were prepared from high molecular weight poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(styrene)‐block‐poly(4‐vinyl pyridine) (PS‐b‐P4VP) in dimethyl formamide (DMF). The hydrogen bonding interactions, phase behavior, and morphology of the complexes were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In this A‐b‐B/C type block copolymer/homopolymer system, P4VP block of the block copolymer has strong intermolecular interaction with PAA which led to the formation of nanostructured micelles at various PAA concentrations. The pure PS‐b‐P4VP block copolymer showed a cylindrical rodlike morphology. Spherical micelles were observed in the complexes and the size of the micelles increased with increasing PAA concentration. The micelles are composed of hydrogen‐bonded PAA/P4VP core and non‐bonded PS corona. Finally, a model was proposed to explain the microphase morphology of complex based on the experimental results obtained. The selective swelling of the PS‐b‐P4VP block copolymer by PAA resulted in the formation of different micelles. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 1192–1202, 2009     

Miscibility and crystallization behavior of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyhexanoate) and methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) blends

Poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyhexanoate) (PHB‐HHx) and methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG) blends were prepared using melt blending. The single glass transition temperature, T_g, between the T_gs of the two components and the negative χ value indicated that PHB‐HHx and MPEG formed miscible blends over the range of compositions studied. The Gordon–Taylor equation proved that there was an interaction between PHB‐HHx and MPEG in their blends. FTIR supported the presence of hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl group of MPEG and the carbonyl group of PHB‐HHx. The spherulitic morphology and isothermal crystallization behavior of the miscible PHB‐HHx/MPEG blends were investigated at two crystallization temperatures (70 and 40 °C). At 70 °C, melting MPEG acted as a noncrystalline diluent that reduced the crystallization rate of the blends, while insoluble MPEG particles acted as a nucleating agent at 40 °C, enhancing the crystallization rate of the blends. However, no interspherulitic phase separation was observed at the two crystallization temperatures. The constant value of the Avrami exponent demonstrated that MPEG did not affect the three‐dimensional spherulitic growth mechanism of PHB‐HHx crystals in the blends, although the MPEG phase, such as the melting state or insoluble state, influenced the crystallization rate of the blends. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2852–2863, 2006     

The study of the miscibility and morphology of poly(styrene‐co‐4‐vinylphenol)/poly(propylene carbonate) blends

Blends of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) with copolymer poly(styrene‐co‐4‐vinyl phenol) (STVPh) have been studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) spin probe method and Raman spectroscopy. The ESR results indicated that the nitroxide radical existed in a PPC‐rich and an STVPh‐rich micro domain in the blends, corresponding to the fast‐motion and slow‐motion component in the ESR spectra, respectively. And in the temperature dependence composite spectra, the fast‐motion fraction increased with increasing the hydroxyl group content in copolymer STVPh. Moreover, the ESR parameter T_5mT, rotational correlation times (τ_c) and activation energies (E_a) showed similar dependence on the hydroxyl group content as the fast‐motion fraction. It resulted from the enhancement of the hydrogen‐bonding interaction between the hydroxyl groups in STVPh and the carboxyl groups and ether oxygen in PPC. However, the distinct band shift and intensity change among the Raman spectra of pure polymer components and those of the blends were observed. In the carboxyl‐stretching region, the band shifted to lower frequency with increasing the hydroxyl groups. Furthermore, the phase morphologies of the blends were obtained by optical microscopy. All could be concluded that the hydrogen‐bonding interaction between the two components was progressively favorable to the mixing process and was the driving force for the miscibility enhancement in the blends. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Alkyl side chain length dependent compatibility of poly(4‐n‐alkylstyrene)s and 1,4‐rich polyisoprene blends

We investigated the compatibility of blends of 1,4‐rich polyisoprene (1,4‐PI) and poly(4‐n‐alkylstyrene)s with six kinds of n‐alkyl side groups, that is, methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, hexyl, and octyl focusing on carbon number of alkyl groups. Poly(4‐methylstyrene)/1,4‐PI blend was turned out to be immiscible at all temperature range adopted in this work and poly(4‐ethylstyrene)/1,4‐PI blend revealed UCST type phase behavior, while the others were found to be compatible. The phase diagrams of poly(4‐ethylstyrene)/1,4‐PI blends were obtained by optical microscopy, and the temperature dependence of the Flory‐Huggins interaction parameter χ has been estimated to be χ = ?0.036 + 24/T by applying lattice theory, where T is the absolute temperature. From this relationship χ value at room temperature (298 K) was calculated to be 0.045, the value is reasonably low for miscible polymers system. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55 , 1791–1797     

Interfacial profiles of miscible poly(4‐trimethylsilylstyrene)/polyisoprene bilayer films

Compositional profiles of bilayer films in the direction normal to the interfaces have been investigated by neutron reflectivity measurements and analyzed with mean field theory. The bilayer films were prepared with poly(4‐trimethylsilylstyrene) (PTMSS) and polyisoprene (PI), which constitute a miscible polymer pair and whose blends show phase separation at the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) by heating. Because we can accurately control the degree of polymerization of component polymers and can adjust the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter, χ, with the temperature, T, according to the relationship χ = 0.027–9.5/T, the phase behavior and the interfacial structure of PTMSS and PI are predictable by mean field theory. When the bilayer films of PTMSS and PI were set at 90 °C, which is a temperature below the LCST, diffusion at the interface was observed, and the original interface disappeared in several hours; this supports the idea that the polymer pair is miscible. No clear interfaces were identified below the LCST, whereas broad interfaces, compared with that of the strong segregation pairs, were observed above the LCST. The compositions of each layer are consistent with that of the coexisting phase in the polymer blends, and the interfacial widths agree well with the theoretical prediction considering the effect of capillary waves. In addition, all annealed films have a thin surface layer of PTMSS corresponding to surface segregation induced by the lower surface energy of PTMSS (with respect to that of PI). Thus, the interfacial profiles of PTMSS/PI bilayer films have been totally prospected in the framework of mean field theory. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 1486–1494, 2005     

Segmental and secondary dynamics in hydrogen‐bonded poly(4‐vinylphenol)/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends

Broadband dielectric spectroscopy was used to study the segmental (α) and secondary (β) relaxations in hydrogen‐bonded poly(4‐vinylphenol)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PVPh/PMMA) blends with PVPh concentrations of 20–80% and at temperatures from ?30 to approximately glass‐transition temperature (T_g) + 80 °C. Miscible blends were obtained by solution casting from methyl ethyl ketone solution, as confirmed by single differential scanning calorimetry T_g and single segmental relaxation process for each blend. The β relaxation of PMMA maintains similar characteristics in blends with PVPh, compared with neat PMMA. Its relaxation time and activation energy are nearly the same in all blends. Furthermore, the dielectric relaxation strength of PMMA β process in the blends is proportional to the concentration of PMMA, suggesting that blending and intermolecular hydrogen bonding do not modify the local intramolecular motion. The α process, however, represents the segmental motions of both components and becomes slower with increasing PVPh concentration because of the higher T_g. This leads to well‐defined α and β relaxations in the blends above the corresponding T_g, which cannot be reliably resolved in neat PMMA without ambiguous curve deconvolution. The PMMA β process still follows an Arrhenius temperature dependence above T_g, but with an activation energy larger than that observed below T_g because of increased relaxation amplitude. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3405–3415, 2004     

Miscibility and interactions in blends of two proton‐donating polymers: Poly(acrylic acid)/poly(p‐vinylphenol) blends

Blends of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(p‐vinylphenol) (PVPh) were prepared from N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF) and ethanol solutions. The DMF‐cast blends exhibited single T_g's, as shown by modulated differential scanning calorimetry, whereas the ethanol‐cast blends had double T_g's. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that there was a specific interaction between PAA and PVPh in the DMF‐cast blends. The single‐T_g blends cast from DMF showed single‐exponential decay behavior for the proton spin–lattice relaxation in both the laboratory frame and the rotating frame, indicating that the two polymers mixed intimately on a scale of 2–3 nm. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 789–796, 2003     

Thermodynamic interactions in blends of poly(4-tert-butyl styrene) and polyisoprene by small-angle neutron scattering

The thermodynamic interactions between poly(4-tert-butyl styrene) [P(4tBS)] and 1,4-polyisoprene (PI; both hydrogenous) were obtained as functions of the temperature, PI molecular weight, and blend composition through the examination of miscible ternary blends of these two components with a common miscible labeled polymer [90% 1,2-deuterated polybutadiene (dPBD)] with small-angle neutron scattering. The thermodynamic interaction parameters between P(4tBS) and dPBD and between P(4tBS) and PI increased with increasing temperature and were consistent with lower critical solution temperature behavior. Although the binary blends of P(4tBS) and dPBD exhibited phase separation at elevated temperatures, the thermodynamic interaction parameters between P(4tBS) and PI remained large and negative and independent of the PI molecular weight. Finally, the thermodynamic interactions for PI and P(4tBS) depended strongly on the ratio of PI to P(4tBS) and were also sensitive to the amount of dPBD present in the ternary blend. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3204–3217, 2004     

Evaluation of the interaction parameter for poly(ε‐caprolactone)/poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile) blends

In this article, the miscibility of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) with poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile) (SAN) containing 25 wt % of acrylonitrile is studied from both a qualitative and a quantitative point of view. The evidences coming from thermal analysis (differential scanning calorimetry) demonstrate that PCL and SAN are miscible in the whole range of composition. The Flory interaction parameter χ_1,2 was calculated by the Patterson approximation and the melting point depression of the crystalline phase in the blends; in both cases, negative values of χ_1,2 were found, confirming that the system is miscible. The interaction parameter evaluated within the framework of the mean field theory demonstrates that the miscibility of PCL/SAN blends is due to the repulsive interaction between the styrene and acrylonitrile segments in SAN. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2010     

Phase behavior,crystallization, and morphology in thermosetting blends of a biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol)‐type epoxy resin and poly(ϵ‐caprolactone)

Thermosetting blends of a biodegradable poly(ethylene glycol)‐type epoxy resin (PEG‐ER) and poly(?‐caprolactone) (PCL) were prepared via an in situ curing reaction of poly(ethylene glycol) diglycidyl ether (PEGDGE) and maleic anhydride (MAH) in the presence of PCL. The miscibility, phase behavior, crystallization, and morphology of these blends were investigated. The uncured PCL/PEGDGE blends were miscible, mainly because of the entropic contribution, as the molecular weight of PEGDGE was very low. The crystallization and melting behavior of both PCL and the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segment of PEGDGE were less affected in the uncured PCL/PEGDGE blends because of the very close glass‐transition temperatures of PCL and PEGDGE. However, the cured PCL/PEG‐ER blends were immiscible and exhibited two separate glass transitions, as revealed by differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. There existed two phases in the cured PCL/PEG‐ER blends, that is, a PCL‐rich phase and a PEG‐ER crosslinked phase composed of an MAH‐cured PEGDGE network. The crystallization of PCL was slightly enhanced in the cured blends because of the phase‐separated nature; meanwhile, the PEG segment was highly restricted in the crosslinked network and was noncrystallizable in the cured blends. The phase structure and morphology of the cured PCL/PEG‐ER blends were examined with scanning electron microscopy; a variety of phase morphologies were observed that depended on the blend composition. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2833–2843, 2004     

Quantifying phase behavior in partially miscible polystyrene/poly(styrene‐co‐4‐bromostyrene) blends

The phase behavior of thin‐film blends of polystyrene (PS) and the random copolymer poly(styrene‐co‐4‐bromostyrene) (PBS) was studied with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS). Phase behavior was studied as a function of the PBS and PS degree of polymerization (N), degree of miscibility [controlled via the volume fraction of bromine in the copolymer (f)], and annealing conditions. The Flory–Huggins interaction parameter χ was measured directly from SAXS as a function of temperature and scaled with f as χ = f²χ_S–BrS [where χ_S–BrS represents the segmental interaction between PS and the homopolymer poly(4‐bromostyrene)] Simulations based on the Flory–Huggins theory and χ measured from SAXS were used to predict phase diagrams for all the systems studied. The PBS/PS system exhibited upper critical solution temperature behavior. The AFM studies showed that increasing f in PBS led to progressively different morphologies, from flat topography (i.e., one phase) to interconnected structures or islands. In the two‐phase region, the morphology was a strong function of N (due to changes in mobility). A comparison of the estimated PBS volume fractions from the AFM images with the PBS bulk volume fraction in the blend suggested the encapsulation of PBS in PS, supporting the work of previous researchers. Excellent agreement between the phase diagram predictions (based on χ measured by SAXS) and the AFM images was observed. These studies were also consistent with interdiffusion measurements of PBS/PS interfaces (with Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy), which indicated that the interdiffusion coefficient decreased with increasing χ in the one‐phase region and dropped to zero deep inside the two‐phase region. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 255–271, 2002     

Hexafluoro-2-hydroxy-2-propyl-modified polyisoprene blends

Dimensionless equilibrium constants describing the self-association of the hexafluoro-2-alkyl-2-propanol group have been determined from infrared spectroscopic data. Corresponding values of these equilibrium constants for a fully modified polyisoprene containing the hexafluoroisopropanol group (PHFPI) were calculated by taking into account differences in the molar volume of the model and the specific repeat unit of the polymer. Equilibrium constants describing the inter-association of PHFPI with methacrylate, acrylate, and acetoxy type carbonyl groups were obtained from spectroscopic studies of miscible PHFPI blends with poly(n-butyl methacrylate), poly(methyl acrylate), and an ethylene-co-vinyl acetate copolymer containing 70 wt% vinyl acetate. The set of equilibrium constant values were then used to calculate theoretical miscibility windows for the complete range of PHFPI blends with poly(n-alkyl methacrylate)s and four copolymers, ethylene-co-methyl methacrylate, styrene-co-methyl acrylate, ethylene-co-methyl acrylate, and ethylene-co-vinyl acetate. Experimental infrared studies confirm the general validity of the predicted miscibility windows. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Competitive hydrogen bonding and self‐assembly in poly(2‐vinyl pyridine)‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(hydroxyether of bisphenol A) blends

Blends of poly(2‐vinyl pyridine)‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (P2VP‐b‐PMMA) and poly(hydroxyether of bisphenol A) (phenoxy) were prepared by solvent casting from chloroform solution. The specific interactions, phase behavior and nanostructure morphologies of these blends were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In this block copolymer/homopolymer blend system, it is established that competitive hydrogen bonding exists as both blocks of the P2VP‐b‐PMMA are capable of forming intermolecular hydrogen bonds with phenoxy. It was observed that the interaction between phenoxy and P2VP is stronger than that between phenoxy and PMMA. This imbalance in the intermolecular interactions and the repulsions between the two blocks of the diblock copolymer lead to a variety of phase morphologies. At low phenoxy concentration, spherical micelles are observed. As the concentration increases, PMMA begins to interact with phenoxy, leading to the changes of morphology from spherical to wormlike micelles and finally forms a homogenous system. A model is proposed to describe the self‐assembled nanostructures of the P2VP‐b‐PMMA/phenoxy blends, and the competitive hydrogen bonding is responsible for the morphological changes. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 1894–1905, 2009     

Mechano-optical behavior in poly (ethylene terephthalate)/poly (ether imide) blends

Mechano-optical behavior and related structural evolution during uniaxial stretching of melt miscible poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/poly (ether imide) (PEI) blends were studied near their glass transition temperature using an instrumented machine that measures true stress, true strain and spectral birefringence simultaneously. Stretching from amorphous state, two distinct stress-optical regimes were observed at temperatures between T_g and T_cc (cold crystallization). Near T_g, a typical photoelastic behavior persists until a critical temperature above which temperature independent initial stress optical behavior is observed. At those temperatures above T_g, where glassy behavior is observed, decreasing stretching rate was also found to eliminate this glassy photo elastic regime leading to the observation of a linear initial stress optical behavior that becomes temperature independent as expected from linear stress optical rule. Increasing PEI concentration in the blends suppresses crystallizability and increases temperature at which initial elastic region disappears giving way to pure liquid behavior where linear stress optical behavior is observed. This is attributed to the increase and broadening of the glass transition temperature with the addition of noncrystallizable PEI. In PET/PEI blends, the stress-optical coefficient (SOC), determined in a linear stress optical regime, was found to increase linearly with the increase in PEI concentration.