Effect of solvent on glass transition temperature in chemically modified polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Polyvinylchloride has been chemically modified with sodium benzene thiolate at different temperatures, in solvents promoting the formation of polymer gels, in solvents favoring light polymer interactions and in the absence of solvent, that is, in the melt. From the¹³C-NMR results it is shown that the substitution reactions on PVC, in all media and temperatures studied, are stereospecific and the nature of substituted chlorines the same.The glass transition temperature of modified polymers has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The glass transition temperature of the modified polymers in the absence of solvent decreases linearly with degree of substitution. When the reaction is carried out in solvents containing carbonyl groups, such as diethyl malonate, cyclohexanone and 2-butanone, the evolution of the glass transition up to about 25% substitution does not follow the above behavior. At higher levels of substitution the evolution ofT _g is similar to that in the melt. For the ether-containing solvents, such as tetrahydrofurane and dioxane, the evolution lies between the two previous curves.When the reactions of PVC with sodium benzene thiolate are carried out in cyclohexanone at different temperatures, between 15–90°C, the evolution of the glass transition temperature with conversion is different for each temperature, and if the reaction temperature increases, the slope of the initial part moves to that in the absence of solvent.These results are related to the formation of PVC gels or interactions. As the nature and percentage of substituted chlorine for a given chemical composition are the same in all the solvents and conditions studied, we propose that Cl-atoms of isotactic and/or heterotactic configurations are implied in the formation of PVC gels or interactions.