Synthesis and characterization of novel rod–coil diblock copolymers of poly(methyl methacrylate) and liquid crystalline segments of poly(2,5‐bis[(4‐methoxyphenyl)oxycarbonyl] styrene)

Liquid crystalline diblock copolymers with different molecular weights and low polydispersities were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and 2,5‐bis[(4‐methoxyphenyl)oxycarbonyl]styrene (MPCS) monomers. The block architecture (coil‐conformation of MMA segment and rigid‐rod of MPCS segment) of the copolymer was experimentally confirmed by a combination of ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance and gel permeation chromatograph techniques. The liquid crystalline behaviour of the copolymer was studied using differential scanning calorimetry and polarized optical microscope. It was found that the liquid crystalline behaviour was dependent on the number average molecular weight of the rigid segment. Only those copolymers with M_n(GPC) of the rigid block above 9200 g mol^?1 could form liquid crystalline phases higher than the glass transition temperature of the rigid block. The random copolymers MPCS‐co‐MMA were also synthesized by conventional free radical polymerization. The molar content of MPCS in MPCS‐co‐MMA had to be higher than 71% to maintain liquid crystalline behaviour. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis of degradable copolymer networks containing hemiacetal components and well‐defined backbones

A novel copolymer network was prepared using divinyl ether bis[4‐(vinyloxy)butyl] (4‐methyl‐1,3‐phenylene) biscarbamate (BECT) as crosslinking agent. First, the backbone chains were synthesized by the copolymerization of acrylic acid (AA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) using reversible addition‐fragmentation chain‐transfer technique. The molecular weight of poly(AA‐co‐MMA) was well‐controlled, and the polydispersity was low. Carboxyl group on the poly(AA‐co‐MMA) chains then reacted with BECT in the presence of pyridinium p‐toluenesulfonate, generating a copolymer network with hemiacetal component in the crosslinking segment. After being treated in strong acid, this copolymer network was able to be degraded owing to the hemiacetal structure, but the backbone chains remained intact. The copolymer network was stable in basic or neutral environment. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(ester ether siloxane)s

A series of novel thermoplastic elastomers based on ABA‐type triblock prepolymers, poly[(propylene oxide)–(dimethylsiloxane)–(propylene oxide)] (PPO‐PDMS‐PPO), as the soft segments, and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT), as the hard segments, was synthesized by catalyzed two‐step melt transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) with 1,4‐butanediol (BD) and α,ω‐dihydroxy‐(PPO‐PDMS‐PPO) (M?_n = 2930 g mol^?1). Several copolymers with a content of hard PBT segments between 40 and 60 mass% and a constant length of the soft PPO‐PDMS‐PPO segments were prepared. The siloxane‐containing triblock prepolymer with hydrophilic terminal PPO blocks was used to improve the compatibility between the polar comonomers, i.e. DMT and BD, and the non‐polar PDMS segments. The structure and composition of the copolymers were examined using ¹H NMR spectroscopy, while the effectiveness of the incorporation of α,ω‐dihydroxy‐(PPO‐PDMS‐PPO) prepolymer into the copolyester chains was controlled by chloroform extraction. The effect of the structure and composition of the copolymers on the transition temperatures (T_m and T_g) and the thermal and thermo‐oxidative degradation stability, as well as on the degree of crystallinity, and some rheological properties, were studied. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Preparation and properties of segmented thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers with two different soft segments

Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers were prepared from 4,4‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI)/1,4‐butanediol (BD)/poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) and MDI/BD/poly(oxytetramethylene glycol) (PTMG). The MDI/BD‐based hard‐segment content of polyurethane prepared in this study was of 39–65 wt %. These polyurethane elastomers had a constant soft‐segment molecular weight (M_n , 2000), but a variable hard‐segment block length (n, 3.0–10.1; M_n , 1020–3434). The effects of the hard‐segment content on the thermal properties and elastic behavior were investigated. These properties of the PPG‐based MPP samples and the PTMG‐based MPT samples were compared. The polyurethane prepared in this study had a hard‐segment crystalline melting temperature in the range of 185.5–236.5°C. With increasing hard‐segment content, the dynamic storage modulus and glass transition temperature increased in both the MPP and MPT samples. The permanent set (%) increased with increasing hard‐segment content and successive maximum elongation. The permanent set (%) of the MPP samples was higher than that of MPT samples at the same hard‐segment content. The value of K (area of the hydrogen‐bonded carbonyl group/area of the free carbonyl group) increased with increasing hard‐segment content in both the MPP and MPT samples, and the K value of the MPT samples was higher than that of the MPP samples at the same hard‐segment content. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 345–352, 1999     

Inelastic response of copolyurethane elastomers with varying soft segment molecular weights and preparation procedure

A family of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers (TPUs) based on the soft segment poly(oxytetramethylene) (PTMO₂₀₀₀ and PTMO₁₀₀₀) were synthesized by the one‐shot and prepolymer methods. Two hard segments were chosen, 4,4′‐methylenebis(phenyl isocyanate) (MDI) (non‐crystallizable) and 4,4′‐dibenzyl diisocyanate (DBDI) (crystallizable). Microphase separation and crystallinity were investigated using small‐angle X‐ray scattering and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering, and dynamic viscoelastic properties were also determined. An increased hard phase degree of crystallinity was primarily achieved by use of DBDI instead of MDI, regardless of the preparation procedure and soft segment molecular weight. An increase of the molecular weight leads to an increase in phase separation and to a decrease in hysteresis. For the DBDI based polymers, a lower soft segment molecular weight resulted in an increase in crystallinity. The DBDI series of TPUs obtained by the one‐shot and prepolymer methods showed higher hysteresis and residual elongations compared with the corresponding materials achieved with MDI. Although the materials varied widely in response to first loading, regardless of the preparation procedure, they displayed remarkable reproducibility and commonality in cyclic responses within the maximum strain envelope. The thermomechanical experiments revealed a better thermal behavior with increase of the soft segment molecular weight from PTMO₁₀₀₀ to PTMO₂₀₀₀.© 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Differential scanning calorimetry analysis of silicon‐containing and phosphorus‐containing segmented polyurethane. I—Thermal behaviors and morphology

This article investigated thermal transition and morphology utilizing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which was performed on silicon‐containing and phosphorus‐containing segmented polyurethane (Si‐PU and P‐PU). The hard segments of those Si‐PU and P‐PU polymers investigated consisted of 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and diphenylsilanediol (DSiD), MDI, and methylphosponic (MPA), respectively. The soft segment of those polymers comprised polytetramethylene ether glycol, with an average molecular weight of 1000 or 2000 (PTMG 1000 and PTMG 2000, respectively). Several thermal transitions appeared for on the Si‐PU and P‐PU polymers, reflecting both the soft‐segment and hard‐segment phases. The Si‐PU and P‐PU polymers with a lower hard‐segment content exhibited a high degree of phase separating as indicated by the constancy of both the soft‐segment glass transition temperature (T_gs) and the breadth of transition zone (ΔB). The polymers in which PTMG 2000 was used as the soft segment generally exhibited a crystalline melting endotherm about 10°C, while crystallization usually disappeared upon melt quenching. The hard segments of the Si‐PU and P‐PU polymers displayed multiple endotherms. The first endotherm was related to a short‐range ordering of the hard segment domain (Region I), and the second endotherm was ascribed to a long‐range ordering of the domain (Region II). The wide‐angle X‐ray demonstrated that the structure in Region I and Region II was almost completely amorphous. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 3489–3501, 2001     

Synthesis and characterization of low‐molecular‐weight poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene oxide) in water

Low‐molecular‐weight poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene oxide) (PPO) with unimodal polydispersity was synthesized by oxidative polymerization of 2,6‐dimethylphenol in the presence of Cu‐ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid catalyst in water. A series of low‐molecular‐weight PPO oligomers with M_n ranged from 360 to 3500 were obtained. It was found that the molecular weight and polydispersity were affected by reaction time, reaction temperature, and catalyst concentration. Based on the detector response‐elution volume curve and the molecular weight from gel permeation chromatography, a possible molecular weight growth mechanism was proposed. The structure and properties of low‐molecular‐weight PPO oligomers were characterized by atomic absorption spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, Ubbelohde viscometer, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Compared to the commercial low‐molecular‐weight PPO, PPO oligomers synthesized in water had a much lower residual copper content. The relationships between T_g and M_n at relatively low‐molecular weight are in good agreement with the equation proposed by Fox and Loshack. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Effect of swelling agent on the molecular weight of poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene oxide) synthesized in an aqueous medium

The effects of the species and content of a swelling agent on the molecular weight of poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene oxide) (PPO) synthesized in an aqueous medium were studied. It was found that the molecular weight of PPO increases after introducing a certain amount of the swelling agent during the oxidative polymerization of 2,6‐dimethylphenol (DMP). T_g of the PPO/swelling agent mixture decreases with the increase of the swelling agent content, and the relation between T_g of the PPO/swelling agent mixture and the swelling agent content obeys Fox equation. After the introduction of the swelling agent during the oxidative polymerization of DMP, the molecular weight of PPO is correlated with T_g of the PPO/swelling agent mixture and it was revealed that T_g plays an important role in the molecular weight of PPO synthesized in the aqueous medium. The same molecular weight of PPO can be obtained only if T_g of the PPO/swelling agent mixture is the same, no matter what kind of swelling agent is introduced during the oxidative polymerization of DMP. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Synthesis and characterization of block copolymers based on natural rubber and polypropylene oxide

Segmented block copolymers from different grades of hydroxyl terminated liquid natural rubber (HTNR) (M _n 3000, 8800, 10,000, and 17,000) and polypropylene oxide (PPO) (M _n 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000) have been synthesized and characterized by spectral analysis, thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and mechanical testing. The glass transition temperature of NR block was found to be at about ?64°C, which is independent of the PPO whose transition is around 15°C. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) shows that the thermal degradation of the samples proceeded in two steps characteristic of the immiscible components. The inability of PPO segments to provide physical crosslinking and the subsequent formation of hard domains is reflected in the low tensile properties and tear properties. The amorphous nature of the PPO phase and its immiscibility with NR phase are evidenced by the SEM studies. The effect of molecular weight of PPO as well as HTNR on the properties of the block copolymers has also been discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. JAppl Polym Sci 103: 909–916, 2007     

The effect of segment length on some properties of thermoplastic poly(ester–siloxane)s

A series of novel thermoplastic elastomers, based on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) as the soft segment and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) as the hard segment, were synthesized by catalyzed two‐step, melt transesterification reactions of dimethyl terephthalate and methyl esters of carboxypropyl‐terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane)s (M?_n = 550–2170 g mol^?1) with 1,4‐butanediol. The lengths of both the hard and soft segments were varied while the weight ratio of the hard to soft segments in the reaction mixture was maintained constant (57/43). The molecular structure, composition and molecular weights of the poly(ester–siloxane)s were examined by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The effectiveness of the incorporation of the methyl‐ester‐terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane)s into the copolymer chains was verified by chloroform extraction. The effect of the segment length on the transition temperatures (T_m and T_g) and the thermal and thermo‐oxidative degradation stability, as well as the degree of crystallinity and hardness properties of the synthesized TPESs, were studied. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Melt rheological behavior of a triblock copolymer based on aramide end‐segments

Melt rheological behavior of a ABA triblock polymer made of poly(tetramethylene oxide) (PTMO) (M_n = 2,900 g mol^?1) soft segment and aramide hard segment was studied. The aramide end‐segments ( A ) were short and mono‐disperse in length. The mid‐segment ( B ) consisted of PTMO₂₉₀₀ extended with terephthalate units to a molecular weight of 9000 g mol^?1. The molecular weight of the triblock was 9700 g mol^?1. Rheological behavior of this material was studied by parallel‐plate and capillary method. The ABA triblock copolymer was compared with a B polymer (PTMO‐terephthalate) of a similar molecular weight. The low molecular weight B polymer had a Newtonian behavior. The low molecular weight triblock copolymer had at high frequencies a low complex viscosity. However, at low frequencies the triblock copolymer had a very high complex viscosity. Also the G″/G′ ratio decreased with decreasing frequency to values less then one and the G′ seemed to have at low frequencies a plateau value. The activation energy of the process increased in value with decreasing shear rate. All these results indicate that the triblock copolymer at low frequencies had a gel‐like behavior and this probably due to the clustering of the aramide segments. The aramide clusters are thought to be the (weak) network points of the gel. This network was also found to have a time dependant rheological response and thus a thixotropic behavior. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

An evaluation of the impact of SG1 disproportionation and the addition of styrene in NMP of methyl methacrylate

A kinetic modeling study is presented for batch nitroxide mediated polymerization (NMP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA; nitroxide: N‐tert‐butyl‐N‐[1‐diethylphosphono‐(2,2‐dimethylpropyl)] (SG1)). Arrhenius parameters for SG1 disproportionation (A = 1.4 10⁷ L mol^?1 s^?1; E_a = 23 kJ mol^?1) are reported, based on homopolymerization data accounting for unavoidable temperature variations with increasing time, that is, nonisothermicity. For low targeted chain lengths (TCLs ≤ 300), this nonisothermicity is also relevant for NMP of MMA with a small amount of styrene. Parameter tuning to copolymerization data confirms a penultimate monomer unit effect for activation (s_a2 = k_a12/k_a22=6.7; 363 K; 1: MMA; 2: styrene). To obtain, for a broad TCL range (up to 800), a dispersity well below 1.3 an initial styrene mass fraction of ca. 10% is required. An interpretation of the comonomer incorporation is performed by calculating the fractions of activation‐growth‐deactivation cycles with a given amount of monomer units and the copolymer composition distribution. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 2545–2559, 2018     

Novel polyisobutylene stars. XXIII. Thermal,mechanical, and processing characteristics of poly(phenylene ether)/polydivinylbenzene(polyisobutylene‐b‐polystyrene)37 blends

The objective of these investigations was to increase the use temperature of novel star‐block polymers consisting of a crosslinked polydivinylbenzene (PDVB) core from which radiate multiple poly(isobutylene‐b‐polystyrene) (PIB‐b‐PSt) arms, abbreviated by PDVB(PIB‐b‐PSt)_n. We achieved this objective by blending star‐blocks with poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) that is miscible with PSt. Thus, various PPO/PDVB(PIB‐b‐PSt)_n blends were prepared, and their thermal, mechanical, and processing properties were investigated. The hard‐phase glass‐transition temperature of the blends could be controlled by the amount (wt %) of PPO. The blends displayed superior retention of tensile strengths at high temperatures as compared to star blocks. The melt viscosities of blends with low weight percentages of PPO were lower than those of star blocks. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 2866–2872, 2002     

Phase transition and domain morphology of siloxane‐containing hard‐segmented polyurethane copolymers

The phase transitions and the morphology of hard‐segment domains of those siloxane‐containing hard‐segmented polyurethane copolymers are studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The NH‐SiPU2 copolymer, which comprises a siloxane–urea hard segment and a polytetramethylene ether glycol soft segment (PTMG2000), exhibits a high degree of phase‐separation and a highly amorphous structure. Therefore, NH‐SiPU2 copolymer proceeds with a melt‐quenching process and with various annealing conditions, to examine the morphologies and the endothermic behaviors of the siloxane‐containing hard‐segment domains. DSC thermograms of further annealed NH‐SiPU2 indicate that the first endotherm (T₁) at around 75°C is related to the short‐range ordering of amorphous siloxane hard‐segment domains (Region I), and the second endotherm (T₂) at around 160°C is related to the long‐range ordering of amorphous siloxane hard‐segment domains (Region II). The DSC thermograms at annealing temperatures below and above T₁ demonstrate that both the temperature and the enthalpy of T₁ linearly increase with the logarithmic annealing time (log t_a). This result shows that the endothermic behavior of T₁ is typical of enthalpy relaxation, which is caused by the physical aging of the amorphous siloxane hard segment. Additionally, the siloxane hard segments in Region I are movable, and can merge with the more stable Region II under suitable annealing conditions. Transmission electron microscopy shows that Regions I and II are around 200 and 800 nm wide, and that the Region I can be combined with the stable Region II, under suitable annealing conditions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 4242–4252, 2006     

Ethylene/α‐olefin copolymerization using diphenylcyclopentadienyl‐phenoxytitanium dichloride/Al(iBu)3/[Ph3C][B(C6F5)4] catalyst systems

Copolymerization of ethylene with 1‐octene and 1‐octadecene using constrained geometry catalysts 2‐(3,4‐diphenylcyclopentadienyl)‐4,6‐di‐tert‐butylphenoxytitanium dichloride (1), 2‐(3,4‐diphenylcyclopentadienyl)‐6‐tert‐butylphenoxytitanium dichloride (2), 2‐(3,4‐diphenylcyclopentadienyl)‐6‐methylphenoxytitanium dichloride (3), and 2‐(3,4‐diphenylcyclopentadienyl)‐6‐phenylphenoxytitanium dichloride (4) was studied in the presence of Al(ⁱBu)₃ and [Ph₃C][B(C₆F₅)₄](TIBA/B). The effect of the catalyst structure, comonomer, and reaction conditions on the catalytic activity, comonomer incorporation, and molecular weight of the produced copolymers was also examined. The 1 /TIBA/B catalyst system exhibits high catalytic activity and produces high molecular weight copolymers. The melting temperature and the degree of crystallinity of the copolymers show a decrease with the increase in the comonomer incorporation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Photo‐Induced atom transfer radical polymerization with nanosized α‐Fe2O3 as photoinitiator

Photo‐induced atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was achieved in poly(ethylene glycol)‐400 with nanosized α‐Fe₂O₃ as photoinitiator. Well‐defined poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was synthesized in conjunction with ethyl 2‐bromoisobutyrate (EBiB) as ATRP initiator and FeCl₃·6H₂O/Triphenylphosphine (PPh₃) as complex catalyst. The photo‐induced polymerization of MMA proceeded in a controlled/living fashion. The polymerization followed first‐order kinetics. The obtained PMMA had moderately controlled number‐average molecular weights in accordance with the theoretical number‐average molecular weights, as well as narrow molecular weight distributions (M_w/M_n). In addition, the polymerization could be well controlled by periodic light‐on–off processes. The resulting PMMA was characterized by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance and gel permeation chromatography. The brominated PMMA was used further as macroinitiator in the chain‐extension with MMA to verify the living nature of photo‐induced ATRP of MMA. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42389.     

Effect of annealing on poly(urethane‐siloxane) copolymers

Poly(urethane‐siloxane) copolymers were prepared by copolymerization of OH‐terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which was utilized as the soft segment, as well as 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and 1,4‐butanediol (1,4‐BD), which were both hard segments. These copolymers exhibited almost complete phase separation between soft and hard segments, giving rise to a very simple material structure in this investigation. The thermal behavior of the amorphous hard segment of the copolymer with 62.3% hard‐segment content was examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Both the T₁ temperature and the magnitude of the T₁ endotherm increased linearly with the logarithmic annealing time at an annealing temperature of 100°C. The typical enthalpy of relaxation was attributed to the physical aging of the amorphous hard segment. The T₁ endotherm shifted to high temperature until it merged with the T₂ endotherm as the annealing temperature increased. Following annealing at 170°C for various periods, the DSC curves presented two endothermic regions. The first endotherm assigned as T₂ was the result of the enthalpy relaxation of the hard segment. The second endothermic peak (T₃) was caused by the hard‐segment crystal. The exothermic curves at an annealing temperature of above 150°C exhibited an exotherm caused by the T₃ microcrystalline growth. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102:5174–5183, 2006     

Transition behavior and phase segregation in TDI polyurethanes

Prior studies of two series of segmented polyurethanes based on 2, 4 toluene cliisocyanate (2, 4 TDI) or 2, 8 TDI, butanediol, and a 1000 molecular weight polytetramethyleneoxide (PTMO-1000) soft segment revealed a rapid increase in soft segment glass transition temperature (T_g) with increasing urethane content in the 2, 4 TDI series. The change in T_g couldbe correlated with estimates of hard segment-soft segment phase mixing obtained by infrared analysis of the urethane NH and carbonyl bands. In the present paper, the infrared data have been reevaluated using improved procedures for resolving the carbonyl band into H-bonded and nonbonded components, and the relation between the estimated extent of phase mixing and T_g has been reexamined. The transition behavior in an extensive series of related polymers has also been determined, including 2, 4 TDI arid 2, 6 TDI samples with PTMO2000 as well as polybutyleneadipate (PBA-1000 and PBA-2000) soft segments. The results indicate the effectiveness, of increased soft segment molecular weight in promoting phase segregation, imply that much greater phase mixing occurs in polyester than polyether samples, suggest that anchoring the ends of the soft segments has only a small effect on T_g, and provide some evidence that H-bonding not only increases T_g but can also impede soft segment crystallization.     

Preparation and characterization of a foam regulator with ultra‐high molecular weight

Multistage emulsion polymerization was used to prepare ultra‐high molecular weight foam regulator of low cost, with methyl methacrylate (MMA), butyl acrylate (BA), styrene (St) as main raw materials. Ubbelohde viscometer, dynamic light scattering, infrared and raman spectra, TEM, DSC, TGA, and GPC were all used to characterize constituent and structure, morphology, and molecular weight. As a result, when the ratio of soft monomer (BA) and hard monomer (St + MMA) is 1:3, MMA:St = 4:1, potassium persulfate (KPS): 0.15%, sodium hydrogen sulfite (SHS): 0.05%, azodiisobutyronitrile (AIBN): 0.15%, divinyl benzene (DVB): 0.3%, the final product terpolymer has obvious core‐shell structure and ultra‐high molecular weight (M_w = 1,400,000). This kind of foam regulator showed improvements in the melt strength, prevention of bubble coalescence and reduction on cost when compared with the traditional. Finally, the coefficients of poly (methyl methacrylate‐butyl acrylate‐styrene) terpolymer's Mark‐Houwink equation were calculated with tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent at 25 °C. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44479.     

Phase behavior for blends of styrene containing triblock copolymers with poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)

The extent to which the styrene end-blocks of three commercially available triblock copolymers can mix with a particular poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (M_n = 22,600 and M_w = 34,000) or PPO has been examined by investigation of the glass transition behavior of the PPO and polystyrene (PS) portions of the blends using differential scanning calorimetry. Each block copolymer has a butadiene-based mid-block which was hydrogenated for two of these materials, but not the third. The three copolymers differ substantially in overall molecular weight and in molecula weight of the blocks. However, in analogy with the literature on blends of homopolymer polystyrene with styrene-based block copolymers, the molecular weight of the PS block should be the principal factor affecting the phase behavior in the present blends. Mixtures of the PPO with the block copolymers having PS blocks with M = 14,500 (nonhydrogenated midblock) and with M = 29,000 (hydrogenated mid-block) exhibited single composition-dependent T_gs for the hard phase, indicating complete mixing of PS segments with the PPO, for all proportions. On the other hand, the block copolymer having a PS block with M = 7,500 and a hydrogenated mid-block exhibited two separate hard phase T_gs corresponding to an essentially pure PPO phase and a PS-rich phase. For blends of homopolymer PS with styrene-based block copolymers, the similar two-phase behavior of the glassy portion can be readily explained by entropic considerations. For the present case, the favorable enthalpic contribution for mixing PPO and PS is an additional factor which seems to influence the restrictions on molecular weight for complete mixing; however, additional work is needed to develop a more quantitative assessment of this new issue.