0000000000082308
AUTHOR
Andreas Stammer
Phase behaviour and interfacial tension of polysiloxane blends
Abstract The cloud point curve for blends of poly(dimethyisiloxane) (PDMS, M w = 2.5kg mol −1 ) and poly(hexylmethylsiloxane) (PHMS, M w = 113kg mol − ] was determined turbidimetrically. The system demixes upon cooling and the UCST amounts to 36°C. The interfacial tension γ was determined at the critical composition for three temperatures by means of a spinning drop tensiometer. The dependence of γ on the reduced critical temperature can be described within experimental error by both the mean field theory and the Ising-3D theory.
Phase separation of blends of polydisperse polymers: Comparison between experiment and theory for the system poly(dimethylsiloxane)/poly(ethylmethylsiloxane)
Cloud point curves were measured turbidimetrically for blends (upper critical solution temperatures ; UCSTs) of poly(ethylmethylsiloxane) (PEMS) and four different samples of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) ; the weight average molar masses in kg/mol are 31.2 for PEMS and 10.4, 15.5, 18.1 and 24.0 for PDMS ; all components have polydispersity indices D (= M w /M n ) within the range from 1.82 to 2.67. Corresponding calculations on the basis of the Flory-Huggins theory (three adjustable parameters) account for the polydispersity; molecular weight distributions are represented by the generalized Schulz-Flory equation. Calculated cloud point curves agree very well with those measured, if individ…
Effect of random copolymer additives on the interfacial tension between incompatible polymers
Interfacial tensions γ were measured for mixtures of poly(methylphenylsiloxane) (4 kg/mol) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (24 kg/mol) in the absence and in the presence of small amounts of the random copolymer poly(dimethylsiloxane-ran-methylphenylsiloxane) (89 mol-% of dimethylsiloxane units, 28 kg/mol) from 25 to 110°C. Approximately 1 wt.-% of the copolymer additive suffices to reduce γ from ca. 2.2 to 1.6 mN/m. The time dependence of the apparent γ value in the course of the attainment of equilibria also indicates surface acivity. The hypothesis is formulated that the efficiency of the random copolymer for a reduction of γ is bound to the condition that it is only sparingly soluble in both …
Continuous polymer fractionation of poly(methyl vinyl ether) and a new Kuhn-Mark-Houwink relation
Continuous polymer fractionation (CPF) — a new large-scale method — was applied to the technical poly(methyl vinyl ether) (PVME) using toluence as solvent and petroleum ether as non-solvent. Two different devices served as fractionation apparatus, namely a column packed with glass beads and a set of mixer-settler extractors. Advantages and draw-backs of these devices are discussed. The experiments yielded numerous PVME fractions, varying in molar mass from 22 to 87 kg/mol and in molecular non-uniformity U = (M¯w/Mn) – 1 from 0,25 to 0,41 according to gel-permeation chromatography as compared with ca. U = 1,30 for the starting material. The following Kuhn-Mark-Houwink relation was establishe…