A STUDY ON POLYMER-POLYMER INTERACTIONS THROUGH MIXING CALORIMETRY

The aim of this work is to describe the most recent achievements in the field of the physical chemistry of mixing. The systems studied have been classified according to the amount of thermic effect due to the blending and its interpretation. When polystyrene (PS) and poly(alpha-methylstyrene) (P alpha MS) are blended, the interaction is weak and Delta(mix)H is close to zero. The presence of polar atoms and/or groups increases the stability of the blend and, therefore, Delta(mix)H becomes more negative. Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(vinylacetate) (PVAc), when mixed to form binary systems, show large differences from their properties when pure. If hydrogen bonding takes place, the interactions are readily detected and a large effect is calorimetrically determined. Cellulose diacetate (CDA) and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) have been studied as an example of a strongly interacting system.