Reaction‐Induced Phase Separation in Polyoxyethylene/Polystyrene Blends. I. Ternary Phase Diagram#

Abstract

Reaction‐induced, phase separation has been studied in polymer blends. A model crystalline‐amorphous system consisted of semicrystalline polyoxyethylene (POE) dissolved in the monomer styrene, which was used as a reactive solvent to ease processing. When the styrene was polymerized to polystyrene (PS) in the mold, phase separation and phase inversion are induced, and a polymer blend was formed. Polyoxyethylene was selected with a molar mass, M n = 8578 g mol−1 and a polydispersity of 1.19, as determined by using gel permeation chromatography. The polymerization of styrene was initiated by using 1 wt% benzoin methyl ether and 0.2 wt% 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile under ultraviolet light. The polymerization kinetics were determined by monitoring the reduction in the intensity of the C˭C stretching vibration band at 1631 cm−1 in the Raman spectrum of styrene. The onset times for the liquid–solid (L–S) phase separation and crystallization of POE from styrene/PS were observed by using simultaneous small‐angle x‐ray scattering (SAXS) and wide‐angle x‐ray scattering. Onset times for L–S phase separation determined from the SAXS data were combined with the styrene polymerization kinetics to plot the L–S phase separation data onto a ternary phase diagram for the reactive system POE/styrene/PS at 45°C and 50°C. #Presented at the Synchrotron Radiation in Polymer Science II Conference, Sheffield, UK, 4–6 September 2002.