Associative and segregative phase behaviour in mixtures of poly(N-tert-butylacrylamide) and poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) with poly(4-vinylphenol): effect of solvent and concentration

Interpolymer complexation behaviour between poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVPh), as proton donor, and polyacrylamide derivatives, poly(N-tert-butylacrylamide) and poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) (PNdEAm), as proton acceptor polymers, with both hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic properties, have been studied. Most mixtures studied in this work resulted in coprecipitation, that is, an associative phase separation. However, for the system PNdEAm/PVPh in aprotic solvents, tetrahydrofuran, acetone and 1,4-dioxane, either an associative (coprecipitation) or a segregative (precipitation of one polymer in presence of the other) behaviour is observed depending on concentration.