Glass transition of binary systems: peculiarities at low temperature

Abstract

The present paper refers to the well known fact that the glass transition-composition curves of miscible binary systems (e.g. polymer-diluent and polymer-polymer mixtures) often exhibit a singular point when the T g values of the two components are far apart. Two different equations apparently apply above and below the temperature of this singularity. Starting from Couchman's entropic treatment of the glass transition of mixtures, and from Angell's suggestion for the calculation of T 0 (‘ideal glass transition temperature’ of the component with higher T g), it is shown that below T 0 an equation should be applicable to binary mixtures which differs considerably from the equations normally used in the literature. The new equation gives a satisfactory description of selected experimental data in the proximity of the component with lower T g.