Specific heats of poly(vinyl chloride) compositions

Specific heats of plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) can be readily obtained by means of the thin foil calorimeter when the polymer is fabricated into sheet or film. The effects of temperature and plasticizer content on the specific heat and of the plasticizer content on the glass temperature are readily observed. The data may be used to estimate the glass temperatures of plasticizers where those temperatures are not readily reached by normal techniques. The specific heat at the glass temperature is approximately 0.255 for the ranges of 0–30 phr plasticizer. A definite glass transition is not observed with 60 phr plasticizer. No other transitions were observed between 200 and 400°K. The previous history of the polymer is important, as it can change the specific heat of the polymer noticeably, especially above the glass temperature. Comparison of the values listed here with those obtained by others should be made with the understanding that these samples were fabricated by extrusion and were free of observable strain. The degree of crystallinity of these polymers is very small, probably less than 10%, since none was found by x-ray diffraction. The plasticizing effect of some stabilizers was noted.