Abstract
AbstractThe effect of graft copolymer on the demixing of solutions of two immiscible homopolymers and critical conditions for emulsion formation were studied. The graft copolymer used in the present work consists of one backbone poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and one branch polystyrene (PS). PVAc and PS of various degrees of polymerization were used as immiscible homopolymers. The common solvent was benzene. When the concentration of homopolymer blend was not sufficiently higher than the critical concentration for demixing of the blend solution, no stable emulsion was formed, even when a considerable amount of graft copolymer was present, and the added graft copolymer merely reduced the demixing rate. However, as the blend concentration was increased, a stable emulsion could readily be obtained by addition of rather small amounts of graft copolymer. The radius of emulsion droplets was inversely proportional to the weight ratio of the graft copolymer to the dispersed component polymer, in accordance with the theoretical prediction. It was concluded that the emulsions were stabilized against coagulation by graft copolymer molecules fixed strongly as a monolayer on the interface of the emulsion.
Published Version
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