Miscibility and Hydrogen Bonding in Blends of Poly(4-vinylphenol)/Poly(vinyl methyl ketone)

Hana Bourara,Agustin Etxeberria,Zitouni Benabdelghani,Slimane Hadjout

doi:10.3390/polym6112752

Abstract

The miscibility and phase behavior of poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVPh) with poly(vinyl methyl ketone) (PVMK) was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was shown that all blends of PVPh/PVMK are totally miscible. A DSC study showed the apparition of a single glass transition (Tg) over their entire composition range. When the amount of PVPh exceeds 50% in blends, the obtained Tgs are found to be significantly higher than those observed for each individual component of the mixture, indicating that these blends are capable of forming interpolymer complexes. FTIR analysis revealed the existence of preferential specific interactions via hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl and carbonyl groups, which intensified when the amount of PVPh was increased in blends. Furthermore, the quantitative FTIR study carried out for PVPh/PVMK blends was also performed for the vinylphenol (VPh) and vinyl methyl ketone (VMK) functional groups. These results were also established by scanning electron microscopy study (SEM).

Highlights

The elaboration of new polymer materials with improved properties has been the subject of much academic and industrial research
In the copolymers, PS4VPy, containing more than 30 mol% of vinyl pyridine in PS4VPy, this miscibility or complexation is evidenced by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), where a single Tg was detected for each composition of the blends [9]
The miscibility and phase behavior of PVPh with poly(vinyl methyl ketone) (PVMK) were investigated by DSC, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

Summary

Introduction

The elaboration of new polymer materials with improved properties has been the subject of much academic and industrial research. It has been established that in most cases, the polymer blends are incompatible, due to their high molecular weight and weak or unfavorable interactions between unlike species in a binary mixture [1,2,3] This behavior is, generally, undesirable, because the materials obtained from immiscible blends often possess poor thermal and mechanical properties, which restricts their use in a wide range of industrial applications. The phase behavior and miscibility of blends of poly(vinylphenol) (PVPh with poly(vinyl methyl ketone) (PVMK) will be explored The miscibility of these binary blends will be studied by means of DSC, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The possible specific interactions, such as hydrogen bonding, will be studied qualitatively and quantitatively by FTIR

Experimental Section

DSC Study

FTIR Study

SEM Study

Conclusions