Phase Behaviour of Hydroxypropyl Cellulose/ Polyacrylamide Gels

Summary : Polysaccharide-based materials have gained nowadays a great importance in many fields of industry, e.g., in the pharmaceutical industry. Some characteristics of such compounds are their non-toxicity and the presence of a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and/or an upper critical solution temperature (UCST). This work presents results on the synthesis and characterization of composites from hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and polyacrylamide (PAAm). The ratio of HPC/PAAm was varied as well as the concentration of the crosslinker and the pH value of the reaction mixture. The compounds prepared were characterized by means of Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and turbidity measurements. FTIR spectroscopy showed the presence of the main structural features of the precursors in the gels. The turbidity measurements of the gels in water showed the presence of a LCST in all samples. The LCST decreased when the quantity of HPC was increased in the gel and diminished also with increasing quantities of crosslinker and pH. The turbidity measurement showed the presence of an UCST when the concentration of the polymer was higher than 1% (w/w). This phenomenon is caused by the presence of the PAAm, which acted as precipitant and influenced over the entropy of the system and provoked phase separation.     

Equilibrium study between condensed phases by isoplethic thermal analysis when a miscibility gap is observed

Isoplethic thermal analysis was used to determine the solid-liquid-liquid equilibria in the ternary system water-sodium sulfate-piperidine. The changes in state observed on the thermogram recorded during the displacement in a quasi-binary section permit the identification of the different phases and the delimitation of the corresponding equilibrium domains. Two isotherms were established at 25°C and 40°C because these temperatures frame the peritectic decomposition of the sodium sulfate decahydrate. Miscibility gaps were completely delimited and each critical point was calculated. This study permitted to determine the optimal conditions for separating the organic phase by liquid-liquid extraction.     

Miscibility Studies on cross-linked EVA/LLDPE Blends by TMDSC

Cross-linked polymers have particular rheological responses during reprocessing, e. g. if the material is recycled, special processing conditions are required. Other virgin polymers can be used as a blending component to enhance rheological properties. Bi-layer film of EVA/LLDPE was produced on a blown film line and cross-linked by high-energy radiation. This film was ‘agglomerated’ then reprocessed in a twin-screw extruder with virgin LLDPE and blown into film. The miscibility of the blend components was then studied using a TA Instruments temperature modulated differential scanning calorimeter (TMDSC). It was found that the cross-linked EVA/LLDPE scrap and the LLDPE have a slight miscibility in the liquid state. A bigger portion of LLDPE was miscible (dissolved) in EVA in low LLDPE blends. A positive deviation in the heat capacity of the LLDPE component compared to the additivity rule indicated melting to be more reversible in the first heating cycle. This initial miscibility was attributed to being induced by high shear during processing. A smaller positive deviation also occurred in the second heating cycle. This was attributed to intrinsic miscibility. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Structure formation of PVDF/PMMA blends studied

Conformational formation and crystallization dynamics of miscible PVDF/at-PMMA and PVDF/iso-PMMA polymer blends from the molten state were studied by the simultaneous DSC/FT-IR measurement. Formation of TGTG' conformation occurred before starting crystallization exothermic peak in the PMMA content (_PMMA) range from 0 to 0.4 for both blends. The formation rate of TGTG' conformation, crystal growth rate and surface free energy of PVDF crystal in blends depended linearly on _PMMA for PVDF/at-PMMA, however, those rates for PVDF/iso-PMMA slightly influenced by _PMMA. These results suggested that the former was miscible blend in molecular level, however, the latter was a miscible blend with large concentration fluctuation or a partially segregated system.     

聚β—羟基丁酸酯／聚醋酸乙烯酯共混体系的相容性与结晶行为

研究了制样过程聚β－羟基丁酸酯／聚醋酸乙烯酯共混体系的相容性和结晶行为的影响。ＤＳＣ、ＳＡＸＳ、ＰＯＭ等实验结果表明，ＰＨＢ／ＰＶＡｃ共混物经溶液成膜后处于分相的状态，ＰＶＡｃ对ＰＨＢ的结晶能力影响不大；而经融处理后，ＰＨＢ／ＰＶＡｃ共混物则处于相容的均相状态，随ＰＶＡｃ的含量含量的增加。     

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.     

聚氧乙烯／聚酚氧共混体系的结晶行为及相容性研究

对聚氧化乙烯/聚酚氧(PEO/PH)共混体系的研究表明,随共混体系中非晶组份PH含量的增加,Avrami指数n值由2.0～2.3变为1.5～2.0,体系的结晶由盘状生长转化为纤维状生长;成核方式由方式Ⅰ转化为方式Ⅱ.PEO/PH共混体系的平衡熔点随PH含量的增加而降低,相互作用能量密度B=-1.46cal/mol,说明体系是互容的。     

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.     

The influence of the molecular mass of two incompatible polymers on their miscibility in the solid state without compatibilizer after casting from solution

The influence of the molecular mass of two incompatible polymers on their miscibility in the solid state has been studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Optical Microscopy. Two pairs of incompatible polymers, polystyrene/poly(methyl methacrylate) and polystyrene/poly(oxyethylene) were cast from a nonselective solvent. When the two polymers are of comparable and relatively high molecular mass (M_w ∼ 60,000) we obtain films in which the domains of the two phases are reduced to 7 μm, without the use of any compatibilizer. On the contrary, when the two polymers present very different molecular masses, a lamellar structure is obtained due to the high repulsion between them. This repulsion has already been observed in solution (Refs. 4 and 5). In the case of polymers with comparable but very low molecular masses the repulsion between them, in solution, is also high, leading to phase separation in the films obtained after removal of the solvent. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 379–387, 1999     

Equilibrium phase diagram of polystyrene and 8CB

The experimental equilibrium phase diagram of a mixture of linear polystyrene of molecular weight M_w = 44,000 g/mol and 4‐cyano‐4′‐n‐octyl‐biphenyl (8CB) is established. The three transitions smectic A‐nematic, nematic‐isotropic, and isotropic‐isotropic are observed. The first two are observed both by optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) while the isotropic‐isotropic transition could be seen only via optical microscopy. Two series of samples with the same compositions were independently prepared and yielded consistent results both by microscopy and DSC. Measurements of sample compositions with less than 50 weight % of 8CB were influenced by the vicinity of the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the polymer in the mixture. This quantity is also determined by DSC as a function of composition. A single T_g is observed, which decreases with composition of the LC. Other thermodynamic quantities such as the enthalpy variations of LC in the nematic‐isotropic transition and the fraction of LC contained in the droplets are also considered. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1841–1848, 1999