6533b7d6fe1ef96bd1266455

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Influence of Molar Mass Distribution on the Compatibility of Polymers

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Abstract Phase equilibria were calculated by means of a new method (direct minimization of the Gibbs energy of mixing) for polymer blends consisting of monodisperse polymer A and polydisperse polymer B. The results obtained for a Schulz-Flory distribution of B (molecular nonuniformity U = (M w/M n) −1 = 1 and 100 components of model B) agree quantitatively with that of computations on the basis of continuous thermodynamics. The influence of U B on the miscibility of A and B in 1:1 mixtures was studied for constant M w of B, quantifying the incompatibility of the polymers by the length of the tie lines. The outcome of these calculations demonstrates that the typical effect of an augmentation of U B (keeping M w and the overall composition constant) consists in an enlargement of the mutual solubility of A and B. However, for an almost compatible pair of polymers (i.e., interaction parameters g are only slightly larger than the critical values for U B = 0), this statement remains true only in the case of suf...