Δχ effects on the miscibility of polymer blends

The Δχ effect on the miscibility of polymer blends prepared by solution-casting has been investigated using the mixture of poly(methyl methacrylate)(PMMA) with poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc). The PMMA/PVAc blends have been prepared by casting from eleven different solutions. The Δχ effect of the solution–cast PMMA/PVAc blends was discussed in terms of Hansen's specified solubility parameters. It was found that the miscibility of the blends could be defined mainly by the solubility parameter contributed by the hydrogen–bonding of a solvent.     

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.     

反相气相色谱法研究聚合物共混物的相溶性

 用反相气相色谱法测定了聚氯乙烯(PVC)／ 乙烯-醋酸乙烯共聚物(EVA)共混体系中分子间表观热力学相互作用参数χ′23,并以χ′23 为判定依据,研究了共混物的相溶性。 初步探讨了共混物的组成、聚合物分子 链结 构、温度与χ′23的关系以及探针分子性质 对χ′23参数的影响。结果表明：χ[ HT6〗′23值能够准确有效地判定PVC与EVA共混物的 相溶性,醋酸乙烯质量分数低的EVA与PVC的共混物是热力学不相溶的;而醋酸乙烯质量 分数中等的EVA与PVC的共混物则具有部分相溶性。结果与其它方法得到的结论是一致的 。     

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.     

Development and characterization of reactive extruded PVC/polyacrylate blends

This paper describes a method to obtain polymer blends by the absorption of a liquid solution of monomer, initiator, and a crosslinking agent in suspension type porous poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) particles, forming a dry blend. These PVC/monomer dry blends are reactively polymerized in a twin‐screw extruder to obtain the in situ polymerization in a melt state of various blends: PVC/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PVC/PMMA), PVC/poly(vinyl acetate) (PVC/PVAc), PVC/poly(butyl acrylate) (PVC/PBA) and PVC/poly(ethylhexyl acrylate) (PVC/PEHA). Physical PVC/PMMA blends were produced, and the properties of those blends are compared to reactive blends of similar compositions. Owing to the high polymerization temperature (180°C), the polymers formed in this reactive polymerization process have low molecular weight. These short polymer chains plasticize the PVC phase reducing the melt viscosity, glass transition and the static modulus. Reactive blends of PVC/PMMA and PVC/PVAc are more compatible than the reactive PVC/PBA and PVC/PEHA blends. Reactive PVC/PMMA and PVC/PVAc blends are transparent, form single phase morphology, have single glass transition temperature (T_g), and show mechanical properties that are not inferior than that of neat PVC. Reactive PVC/PBA and PVC/PEHA blends are incompatible and two discrete phases are observed in each blend. However, those blends exhibit single glass transition owing to low content of the dispersed phase particles, which is probably too low to be detected by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) as a separate T_g value. The reactive PVC/PEHA show exceptional high elongation at break (～90%) owing to energy absorption optimized at this dispersed particle size (0.2–0.8 µm). Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal conductivity of poly(vinyl chloride)/polycaprolactone blends

Thermal diffusivity, heat capacity, and density of polyvinyl chloride/polycaprolactone (PVC/PCL) blends were measured by the laser flash method, DSC, and pycnometry, respectively. The thermal conductivity of the PVC/PCL blends was determined from the results. The miscibility of the blend and crystallinity of PCL were determined by DSC. The effect of blend structure on thermal conductivity is discussed. The phase compositions of the PVC/PCL blends are of three types depending on PCL content: i.e., up to 33%, from 33 to 70%, and above 70% PCL by weight. Thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and heat capacity of the PVC/PCL blends are strongly affected by the phase composition of the blend, which changes in a complicated way with PCL content. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Investigation into new materials for optical devices: the miscibility and solvent effects of azobenzene derivative blends

With the increasing demand for novel devices with optical applications the search for new materials to data store and process becomes a priority. By introducing blends, tailor made properties and low cost give added advantage. Miscibility is an essential requirement for a new material, this research thus involves miscibility studies of poly(4‐(N‐(2‐methacryloyloxyethyl)‐N‐ethylamino)‐4′‐nitroazobenzene)₉₀‐co‐(methyl methacrylate)₁₀, (azobenzene derivative) with polymethyl‐methacrylate (PMMA), polyvinylacetate (PVAc) and polyvinylchloride (PVC) prepared in tetrahydrofuran (THF), and/or dimethylformamide (DMF) and/or dichloromethane (CH₂Cl₂). The glass transitions, solvent and varying molecular weight effect were investigated, since these all primarily influence the miscibility. THF was found to encourage miscibility at specific compositions of PVAc and PVC blends. However, with CH₂Cl₂ and DMF immiscibility is encouraged. The Fox–Flory equation was applied to the blends analyzing the PVC blends in DMF as deviations from ideality. Different molecular weights of PMMA were identified as immiscible regardless of solvent. PMMA's lower solubility in THF and CH₂Cl₂ compared to the azobenzene derivative, displayed the existence of PMMA islands. In all blends the favorable and unfavorable interactions between polymer–solvent–polymer systems are considered. Furthermore, the miscibility effect on increasing the MMA content of the azobenzene derivative was also investigated. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

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.     

Cellulose alkyl ester/vinyl polymer blends: effects of butyryl substitution and intramolecular copolymer composition on the miscibility

The blend miscibility of cellulose alkyl esters, mainly butyrate (CB) and acetate butyrate (CAB), with synthetic homo- and copolymers comprising N-vinyl pyrrolidone (VP) and/or vinyl acetate (VAc) units, i.e., PVP, PVAc, and P(VP-co-VAc), was examined by differential scanning calorimetry. A miscibility map for the CB/vinyl polymer systems was constructed as a function of the degree of substitution (DS) of CB and the VP fraction of the mixing component. CBs were immiscible with PVAc regardless of the DS used (2.11–2.94), but miscible or immiscible with PVP depending on whether the butyryl DS was <2.5 or >2.5. The critical value of DS≈2.5 is lower than the corresponding one (DS≈2.8) evaluated formally for cellulose acetate (CA)/PVP blend series. This lowering is ascribable to an effect of steric hindrance of the bulky butyryl substituents, leading to suppression of the hydrogen-bonding interactions, as a driving factor for miscibility attainment, between residual hydroxyls of CB and carbonyl groups of PVP. The CB/vinyl copolymer system imparted a ‘miscibility window’ in which the VP/VAc composition participated; viz., CBs of DS≈2.54–2.94 were miscible with some P(VP-co-VAc)s of 30–70Â mol% VP fractions, in spite of the immiscibility with both PVP and PVAc homopolymers. The result was interpreted in terms of another inter-component attraction derived from repulsion between the monomer ingredients constituting the vinyl copolymer component. For CAB/P(VP-co-VAc) blends, it was observed that the VP/VAc range forming such a miscibility window became further expanded, compared with the corresponding series of CB blends. Fourier transform infrared and solid-state ¹³C NMR spectroscopy revealed not only the presence or absence of the intermolecular hydrogen-bonding formation, determined according to the lower or higher DS of the cellulose ester component in the blends considered, but also a difference in the mixing scale between the polymer pairs regarded as miscible by the thermal analysis.     

Preparation and characterization of polyaniline blends with polyvinyl acetate,polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride for toxic gas sensors

The conditions of processing and gas sensing of ­polyaniline (PANi) blends with polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were investigated. Flexible, free‐standing and stretchable films of various blends compositions were obtained by casting. The mechanisms of the conducting blends response to a selection of gases and vapours were investigated using two techniques: measurement of conductance and mass changes using a four‐point probe method and X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) device, respectively. These responses to toxic gases and vapours are better explained by polymer blends than homopolymers. Prepared films were exposed to hydrogen halides, hydrogen cyanide, halogens, monochloroacetic acid (MCAA), 1‐3‐5 trichloromethyl benzene (TCMB), methylbenzyl bromide (MBB), bromoacetone (BA) and cyanogen bromide (CB). The changes in conductivity of various polymer frequently observed are partly due to one stage in the two‐stage sorption perhaps involving the swelling of the polymer and then diffusion of gases into polymer chains. The swelling of polymers is a slow process, therefore, we have pre‐swelled polymer films which tend to decrease the response times of blends in respect to gases. The structures of the blends are examined by STA (TGA & DSC) and SEM studies. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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     

Mechanical characterization of vinyl acetate based emulsion polymer blends

Emulsion blends comprise an important commercial area of polymer blend utility. Surprisingly, the fundamental study of emulsion blends is rarely noted in the literature. This study investigates emulsion blends of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and vinyl acetate‐ethylene copolymers (VAE), where both components employ poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) as the protective colloid. PVOH comprises the continuous phase in the emulsion cast films for both the individual components and the blends. This provides an example whereby excellent adhesion can be expected between the particles comprising the blend. The combination of low T_g/high T_g emulsion blends has been noted to be of interest, and the PVAc/VAE emulsion blends noted here offer an excellent model to study. The PVAc/VAE blends protected with PVOH exhibit poor mechanical compatibility even though there is good adhesion. Conventional theory based on polymer/filler combinations predicts a rapid loss in elongation as filler content increases if excellent adhesion is observed. The PVAc/VAE blends (where PVAc is the filler) also exhibit similar behavior. This result implies excellent adhesion may not be desired where a compliance mismatch occurs for emulsion blends. The polymer/filler theories do not properly predict PVAc/VAE blend tensile strength results. A newer approach termed the equivalent box model (EBM) employing percolation theory agrees well with experimental results. Melt mixing of the low/high compliance PVAc/VAE emulsion blends yields a significant improvement in mechanical compatibility. This indicates that a heterogeneous mixture of the same components yields better mechanical results than an array of particles with excellent adhesion between the particles.     

Crystallization,morphology, structure and miscibility of poly(ethylene oxide) based blends

Results of an investigation on the morphology, structure, isothermal crystallization, thermal behaviour and miscibility of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) based binary blends are reported. In particular poly(vinyl acetate)(PVAc), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) at different tacticity and poly(ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA) were added to PEO. It was found that with the only exception of isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (IPMMA), the addition of the above cited components causes a depression in both the spherulite growth rate and the overall kinetic rate constant. The experimental G and Kn were analyzed by means of the latest kinetic theory in order to determine the influence of composition on the process of surface secondary nucleation. The optical microscopy of thin films of the sample revealed that the blends crystallized with volume filling crystals at least up to 50/50 blend composition. The small angle X-ray scattering curves were analyzed using a recently developed methodology. The structural properties of the blends were attributed to the presence of the non crystallizable material in the interlamellar or interfibrillar regions of PEO. From the glass transition temperature it has been deduced that an homogeneous amorphous phase is present for all the blends except for the PEO/IPMMA amorphous system. For the system PEO/atactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (APMMA) the miscibility was also predicted by theoretical approaches.     

Mechanical properties of blends of PAMAM dendrimers with poly(vinyl chloride) and poly(vinyl acetate)

Hybrid blends of poly(amidoamine) PAMAM dendrimers with two linear high polymers, poly(vinyl chloride), PVC, and poly(vinyl acetate), PVAc, are reported. The interaction between the blend components was studied using dynamic mechanical analysis, xenon nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and tensile property measurements. The data suggest a much higher degree of interaction between components of PVAc-containing blends compared to those containing PVC. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 2111–2117, 1998     

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.     

Characterization of poly(vinyl acetate)/sugar cane bagasse lignin blends and their photochemical degradation

The acetone-soluble lignin fraction (ASLF) of sugar cane bagasse, from a sugar and alcohol factory residue, was obtained after extraction with formic acid and used to prepare blends with poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) by casting. PVAc and ASLF/PVAc blends were irradiated with ultraviolet light (Hg lamp). Blend formation and the irradiation effects were examined through thermal analysis (TG and DSC), scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The DSC results show PVAc glass transition temperature (T _g) shifts because of both, irradiation and ASLF incorporation. Non-irradiated pure PVAc presented a smooth surface, while after UV irradiation, light surface spots are observed. ASLF/PVAc 10/90 and 5/95 blends did not exhibit differences before and after UV irradiation, suggesting that lignin protects PVAc from photochemical degradation.     

Preparation and characterization of thermoplastic elastomer of poly(vinyl chloride) and chlorinated waste rubber

In order to develop applications for the abundant waste rubber powder, chlorinated waste rubber (Cl-WR) was prepared by a water based chlorination method using chlorine as chlorinating agent. In this paper, Cl-WR was used as an elastic filler and blended with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix to develop a new thermoplastic elastomer PVC/Cl-WR. The mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, swelling resistance, morphology and thermal properties of PVC/Cl-WR were characterized and compared with those of PVC/waste rubber powder (PVC/WR) blends. The results indicated that the mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, swelling resistance and thermal properties of the PVC/Cl-WR blends showed noticeable improvements over PVC/WR blends due to the improved polarity of Cl-WR. Also, the excellent miscibility and compatibility of Cl-WR with PVC was demonstrated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of the resulting blends.     

用DSC研究线形多嵌段聚氨酯与聚氯乙烯、氯化聚氯乙烯共混相容性

用示差扫描量热法（DSC）研究了线形多嵌段聚氨酯（PU）与聚氯乙烯（PVC）、氯化聚氯乙烯（CPVC）共混相容性，说明了PU／VC、PU／CPVC的相容是由于共混物中形成了新的氢键的缘故．聚酯型聚氨酯与PVC、CPVC的相容性要好子聚酸型聚氨酯，CPVC与PU的相容性又要好于PVC．聚氨酯中硬段的引入不利于PU／PVC、PU／CPVC的相容性．     

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.