Polycaprolactone/polystyrene bioblends characterized by thermogravimetry, modulated differential scanning calorimetry and infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy

Polymer blends comprising at least one biodegradable polymer with other polymers are referred to as bioblends. Successful development of bioblends requires the biodegradable polymers to be compatible with other polymer components. Compatibility is normally assessed through the evaluation of the degree of intermolecular interactions between individual components. In this work, the degree of interaction in binary bioblends comprising biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) and polystyrene (PS) was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) and Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (FTIR-PAS). The TGA studies indicated that incorporation of PCL in PS results in thermal destabilization of PCL/PS bioblends. The MDSC studies showed that some parameters, such as the enthalpies of melting and crystallization, favored partial miscibility of PS in PCL, while others, such as change in the glass transition temperature, favored immiscibility. The FTIR-PAS spectra suggested the presence of intermolecular n-π interactions between PCL and PS and supported the results of TGA and MDSC analyses of PCL/PS bioblends.