Syntheses of poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(dimethyl siloxane) graft copolymers and their surface enrichment of their blend with acrylate adhesive copolymers

Several types of poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(dimethyl siloxane) graft copolymers (PMMA‐g‐PDMS) were synthesized using macromonomer technology. Three types of PMMA‐g‐PDMS with different PDMS chain length were obtained. The effect of siloxane chain length on surface segregation of PMMA‐g‐PDMS/poly(2‐ethylhexyl acrylate‐co‐acrylic acid‐co‐vinyl acetate)[P(2EHA‐AA‐VAc)] blends was investigated. The blends of PMMA‐g‐PDMS with P(2EHA‐AA‐VAc) showed surface segregations of PDMS components. The surface enrichments of PDMS in the blends depended on the PDMS chain length, significantly. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 1736–1740, 2002     

Effect of solvent evaporation rate on surface composition in fluoro‐copolymer/acrylate‐copolymer blend films

The relationship between the surface composition and the rate of solvent evaporation (R) in blend films of poly(vinylidene fluoride‐co‐hexafluoroacetone) (P(VDF‐HFA)) and poly(2‐ethylhexyl acrylate‐co‐acrylic acid‐co‐vinyl acetate) (P(2EHA‐AA‐VAc)) has been investigated. P(VDF‐HFA), a low‐surface tension component, was concentrated on the surface when R was relatively high. In contrast, when R was relatively low, P(2EHA‐AA‐VAc), a low‐density component, was concentrated on the surface. Therefore, it is speculated that the factors dominating surface enrichment in polymer blends were changed from surface tension differences to density differences between the components when R was decreased. In addition, the affinity between components and substrate strongly affects the dominant factors determining the surface composition. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Miscibility and crystallization kinetics of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate)/ poly(methyl methacrylate) blends

The miscibility and crystallization kinetics of the blends of random poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) [P(HB‐co‐HV)] copolymer and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM). It was found that P(HB‐co‐HV)/PMMA blends were miscible in the melt. Thus the single glass‐transition temperature (T_g) of the blends within the whole composition range suggests that P(HB‐co‐HV) and PMMA were totally miscible for the miscible blends. The equilibrium melting point (T°_m) of P(HB‐co‐HV) in the P(HB‐co‐HV)/PMMA blends decreased with increasing PMMA. The T°_m depression supports the miscibility of the blends. With respect to the results of crystallization kinetics, it was found that both the spherulitic growth rate and the overall crystallization rate decreased with the addition of PMMA. The kinetics retardation was attributed to the decrease in P(HB‐co‐HV) molecular mobility and dilution of P(HB‐co‐HV) concentration resulting from the addition of PMMA, which has a higher T_g. According to secondary nucleation theory, the kinetics of spherulitic crystallization of P(HB‐co‐HV) in the blends was analyzed in the studied temperature range. The crystallizations of P(HB‐co‐HV) in P(HB‐co‐HV)/PMMA blends were assigned to n = 4, regime III growth process. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 3595–3603, 2004     

Nanophase morphology and crystallization in poly(vinylidene fluoride)/polydimethylsiloxane‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) blends

A polydimethylsiloxane‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (PDMS‐b‐PMMA) diblock copolymer was synthesized by the atom transfer radical polymerization method and blended with a high‐molecular‐weight poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). In this A‐b‐B/C type of diblock copolymer/homopolymer system, semi‐crystallizable PVDF (C) and PMMA (B) block are miscible due to favorable intermolecular interactions. However, the A block (PDMS) is immiscible with PVDF and therefore generates nanostructured morphology via self‐assembly. Crystallization study reveals that both α and γ crystalline phases of PVDF are present in the blends with up to 30 wt% of PDMS‐b‐PMMA block copolymer. Adding 10 wt% of PVDF to PDMS‐b‐PMMA diblock copolymer leads to worm‐like micelle morphology of PDMS of 10 nm in diameter and tens of nanometers in length. Moreover, morphological results show that PDMS nanostructures are localized in the inter‐fibrillar region of PVDF with the addition of up to 20 wt% of the block copolymer. Increase of PVDF long period by 45% and decrease of degree of crystallization by 34% confirm the localization of PDMS in the PVDF inter‐fibrillar region. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Nanophase morphology and crystallization in poly(vinylidene fluoride)/polydimethylsiloxane‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate)‐block‐polystyrene blends

An approach to achieve confined crystallization of ferroelectric semicrystalline poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) was investigated. A novel polydimethylsiloxane‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate)‐block‐polystyrene (PDMS‐b‐PMMA‐b‐PS) triblock copolymer was synthesized by the atom‐transfer radical polymerization method and blended with PVDF. Miscibility, crystallization and morphology of the PVDF/PDMS‐b‐PMMA‐b‐PS blends were studied within the whole range of concentration. In this A‐b‐B‐b‐C/D type of triblock copolymer/homopolymer system, crystallizable PVDF (D) and PMMA (B) middle block are miscible because of specific intermolecular interactions while A block (PDMS) and C block (PS) are immiscible with PVDF. Nanostructured morphology is formed via self‐assembly, displaying a variety of phase structures and semicrystalline morphologies. Crystallization at 145 °C reveals that both α and β crystalline phases of PVDF are present in PVDF/PDMS‐b‐PMMA‐b‐PS blends. Incorporation of the triblock copolymer decreases the degree of crystallization and enhances the proportion of β to α phase of semicrystalline PVDF. Introduction of PDMS‐b‐PMMA‐b‐PS triblock copolymer to PVDF makes the crystalline structures compact and confines the crystal size. Moreover, small‐angle X‐ray scattering results indicate that the immiscible PDMS as a soft block and PS as a hard block are localized in PVDF crystalline structures. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Miscibility and crystallization behavior of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate)/poly(vinyl acetate) blends

The miscibility and crystallization behavior of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) (P(HB‐co‐HV))/poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) blends have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM). It was found that P(HB‐co‐HV)/PVAc blends were miscible in the melt over the whole compositions. Thus the blend exhibited a single glass transition temperature (T_g), which increased with increasing PVAc composition. The spherulitic morphologies of P(HB‐co‐HV)/PVAc blends indicated that the PVAc was predominantly segregated into P(HB‐co‐HV) interlamellar or interfibrillar regions during P(HB‐co‐HV) crystallization because of the volume‐filled spherulites. As to the crystallization kinetics study, it was found that the overall crystallization and crystal growth rates decreased with the addition of PVAc. The kinetics retardation was primarily attributed to the reduction of chain mobility and dilution of P(HB‐co‐HV) upon mixing with higher T_g PVAc. The overall crystallization rate was predominantly governed by the spherulitic growth rate and promoted by the samples treated with the quenched state because of the higher nucleation density. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 980–988, 2006     

Compositional variations in cast films of blends of copolymers of siloxanes and poly(methyl methacrylate) determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray image analysis

Films cast on gold surfaces from 3% methylene chloride solutions of syndiotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) (M_n = 23,000) and random copolymers of PMMA and 4-(methacryloyloxybutyl) pentamethyldisiloxane (MBPD) (M_n = 40,000) are all heterogeneous with visible phase separation occurring over most of the compositional range. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) shows that for PMMA blended with the copolymers there is an excess of silicon, ranging from 1.9 wt% to 9.7 wt%, in the surface exposed to air during casting, while the lower surface exposed to the gold is depleted in silicon. X-Ray mapping and image analysis show that for blends containing 50% or less of siloxane copolymer the upper surface is composed of large siloxane rich domains in a PMMA matrix while the lower surface is composed of much smaller and less abundant siloxane domains in a PMMA matrix. In addition, the siloxane domains of the upper surface contain small PMMA domains. For blends with a greater siloxane content, the upper surface is composed of a siloxane matrix while the lower surface remains PMMA rich.     

Effect of in situ polymerization conditions of methyl methacrylate on the structural and morphological properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(acrylonitrile‐g‐(ethylene‐co‐propylene‐co‐diene)‐g‐styrene) PMMA/AES Blends

In this study, the structural and morphological properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(acrylonitrile‐g‐(ethylene‐co‐propylene‐co‐diene‐g‐styrene) (PMMA‐AES) blends were investigated with emphasis on the influence of the in situ polymerization conditions of methyl methacrylate. PMMA‐AES blends were obtained by in situ polymerization, varying the solvent (chloroform or toluene) and polymerization conditions: method A—no stirring and air atmosphere; method B—stirring and N₂ atmosphere. The blends were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The results showed that the PMMA‐AES blends are immiscible and present complex morphologies. This morphology shows an elastomeric dispersed phase in a glassy matrix, with inclusion of the matrix in the elastomer domains, suggesting core shell or salami morphology. The occlusion of the glassy phase within the elastomeric domains can be due to the formation of graft copolymer and/or phase inversion during polymerization. However, this morphology is affected by the polymerization conditions (stirring and air or N₂ atmosphere) and by the solvent used. The selective extraction of the blends' components and infrared spectroscopy showed that crosslinked and/or grafting reactions occur on the elastomer chains during MMA polymerization. The glass transition of the elastomer phase is influenced by morphology, crosslinking, and grafting degree and, therefore, T_g depends on the polymerization conditions. On the other hand, the behavior of T_g of the glassy phase with blend composition suggests miscibility or partial miscibility for the SAN phase of AES and PMMA. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Morphology and properties of biodegradable and biosourced polylactide blends with poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐4‐hydroxybutyrate)

Biodegradable polymer blends based on biosourced polymers, namely polylactide (PLA) and poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐4‐hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB‐co‐4HB)), were prepared by melt compounding. The effects of P(3HB‐co‐4HB) on the miscibility, phase morphology, thermal behavior, mechanical properties, and biodegradability of PLA/P(3HB‐co‐4HB) blends were investigated. The blend was an immiscible system with the P(3HB‐co‐4HB) domains evenly dispersed in the PLA matrix. However, the T_g of P(3HB‐co‐4HB) component in the blends decreased compared with neat P(3HB‐co‐4HB), which might be attributed to that the presence of the phase interface between PLA and P(3HB‐co‐4HB) resulted in enhanced chain mobility near interface. The addition of P(3HB‐co‐4HB) enhanced the cold crystallization of PLA in the blends due to the nucleation enhancement of PLA caused by the enhanced chain mobility near the phase interface between PLA and P(3HB‐co‐4HB) in the immiscible blends. With the increase in P(3HB‐co‐4HB) content, the blends showed decreased tensile strength and modulus; however, the elongation at beak was increased significantly, indicating that the inherent brittlement of PLA was improved by adding P(3HB‐co‐4HB). The interesting aspect was that the biodegradability of PLA is significantly enhanced after blends preparation. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Polymer nanocomposites containing carbon nanotubes and miscible polymer blends based on poly[ethylene‐co‐(acrylic acid)]

Four binary polymer blends containing poly [ethylene‐co‐(acrylic acid)] (PEAA) as one component, and poly(4‐vinyl phenol‐co‐2‐hydroxy ethyl methacrylate) (P4VPh‐co‐2HEMA) or poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) (PEOx) or poly(vinyl acetate‐co‐vinyl alcohol) (PVAc‐co‐VA) or poly (vinylpyrrolidone‐co‐vinyl acetate) (PVP‐co‐VAc) as the other component were prepared and used as a matrix of a series of composite materials. These binary mixtures were either partially or completely miscible within the composition range studied and were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared by a thermal treatment of polyester synthesized through the chemical reaction between ethylene glycol and citric acid over an alumina boat. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) was used to characterize the synthesized CNTs. Films of composite materials containing CNTs were obtained after evaporation of the solvent used to prepare solutions of the four types of binary polymer blends. Young's moduli of the composites were obtained by thermomechanical analysis at room temperature. Only one glass transition temperature was detected for several compositions on both binary blends and the composite material matrices. Evidence of hydrogen bond formation was recorded for both miscible blends and composite materials. The degree of crystallinity and Young's moduli of the CNT‐polymer composites increased compared to the single polymer blends. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Preparation and characterization of a poly(methyl methacrylate) based composite bone cement containing poly(acrylate‐co‐silane) modified hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

The purpose of this study was to study the mechanical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)‐based bone cement incorporated with hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles after surface modification by poly(methyl methacrylate‐co‐γ‐methacryloxypropyl timethoxysilane) [P(MMA‐co‐MPS)]. PMMA and P(MMA‐co‐MPS) were synthesized via free‐radical polymerization. P(MMA‐co‐MPS)‐modified hydroxyapatite (m‐HA) was prepared via a dehydration process between silane and HA; the bone cement was then prepared via the in situ free‐radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of PMMA and P(MMA‐co‐MPS)–m‐HA. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, ¹H‐NMR, and gel permeation chromatography were used to characterize the P(MMA‐co‐MPS). Thermogravimetric analysis and FTIR were used as quantitative analysis methods to measure the content of P(MMA‐co‐MPS) on the surface of HA. The effect of the proportion of m‐HA in the PMMA‐based bone cement on the mechanical properties was studied with a universal material testing machine. A 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was also carried out to determine the cytotoxicity of the composite bone cement. The results showed that the surface modification of HA greatly improved the interaction between the inorganic and organic interfaces; this enhanced the mechanical properties of bone cement for potential clinical applications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40587.     

Methyl methacrylate based copolymers and terpolymers: Preparation,identification, and plasticizing capability for a poly(methyl methacrylate) used in aviation

In this study, we first synthesized transparent poly(methyl methacrylate–maleic anhydride) [P(MMA–MAH)] and poly(methyl methacrylate–maleic anhydride–N‐2‐methyl‐4‐nitrophenyl maleimide) [P(MMA–MAH–MI)] via free‐radical polymerization at different monomer ratios. The synthesized polymers were characterized by titration, viscometric, spectroscopy, and thermal analyses. Higher contents of maleic anhydride (MAH) resulted in increases in the viscosity, glass‐transition temperature (T_g), and transparency. The synthesized polymers were then blended with a commercial‐grade poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) used in aviation in the presence of CHCl₃. According to the free volume theory, the incorporation of 5 wt % P(MMA–MAH)s or P(MMA–MAH–MI)s into the commercial PMMA resulted in a plasticizing impact on this thermoplastic, which was confirmed by the decrease in the T_g values of the blends with almost the same transparency as the initial PMMA. In fact, the higher the content of MAH was, the lower the T_g of the blends was. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46603.     

Block copolymers derived from azobiscyanopentanoic acid. XI. Properties of silicone–PMMA block copolymers prepared via polysiloxane(azobiscyanopentanamide)s

Mechanical, thermal, and surface properties of poly(dimethylsiloxane)–poly(methyl methacrylate) block copolymers (PDMS-b-PMMA) prepared by the use of polysiloxane(azobiscyanopentanamide)s were intensively investigated. The mechanical strength of block copolymers was found to decrease with an increase of siloxane contents. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of block copolymers having long siloxane chain length (SCL) and high siloxane content revealed the existence of two glass transitions attributable to microphase separation of two segments. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) also gave some evidence of microphase separation supporting the DMA results. It was observed that the incorporation of PDMS segments in block copolymers improved thermal stability of PMMA, as confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis. Surface analysis of the block copolymers films cast from several solutions indicated surface accumulation of PDMS segments, as revealed by water contact angle and ESCA measurements.     

Blends containing amphiphilic polymers. V. Compatibilization of N‐alkylitaconamic acid‐co‐styrene copolymers with interacting polymers

The phase behavior of blends containing N‐alkylitaconamic acid‐co‐styrene copolymers (NAIA‐co‐S) with poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) (PVP) of two different weight average molecular weights (M _w ), poly(2‐vinylpyridine) (P2VPy) and poly(4‐vinylpyridine) (P4VPy), was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Copolymers containing 80% S are miscible with PVP₁₀, PVP₂₄, and P4VPy over the whole range of composition. In the case of blends with P2VPy, miscibility is observed only for the first three members of the series, i.e., NEIA‐co‐S, NPIA‐co‐S, and NBIA‐co‐S. For copolymers containing hexyl to dodecyl moieties, phase separation is observed in blends with P2VPy. Copolymers containing 50% S are miscible over the whole range of composition irrespective of the homopolymer and the length of the side chain of the itaconamic moiety of the copolymer. This behavior is interpreted in terms of steric hindrance, in the sense that the copolymers with long side chains are not able to interact with the nitrogen of P2VPy because of the position in the aromatic ring. The interactions between copolymers and homopolymers are discussed in terms of specific interactions like hydrogen bonds between the itaconamic moiety and the different functional groups of the homopolymers, together with the hydrophobic interaction, which cannot be disregarded. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 2512–2519, 2006     

Poly(dimethylsiloxane)urethane‐co‐poly(methyl methacrylate) with 2,4‐toluene diisocyanate and m‐xylene diisocyanate. I. Compatibility and impact strength of copolymers

In this study, slightly crosslinked poly(dimethylsiloxane)urethane‐co‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (PDMS urethane‐co‐PMMA) graft copolymers based on two diisocyanates, 2,4‐toluene diisocyanate (2,4‐TDI) and m‐xylene diisocyanate (m‐XDI), were successfully synthesized. Glass‐transition behaviors of the copolymers were investigated. Results confirm that PDMS–urethane and PMMA are miscible in the 2,4‐TDI system, but are only partially miscible in the m‐XDI system. The methylene groups adjoining the isocyanate in the m‐XDI system show increased phase‐separation behavior over the 2,4‐TDI system, in which the benzene ring adjoins the isocyanate. The functional group of PDMS–urethane improves the impact strength of the copolymers. The toughness depends on the compatibility of PDMS–urethane and PMMA segments in the copolymers. In the m‐XDI system, the impact strength of the copolymer containing 3.75 phr macromonomer achieves a maximum value (from 13.02 to 22.21 J/m). The fracture behavior and impact strength of the copolymers in the 2,4‐TDI system are similar to that of PMMA homopolymer, although they are independent of the macromonomer content in the copolymer. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 1875–1885, 2002     

Characterization of polyacrylonitrile,poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinyl acetate), and poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐itaconic acid) based activated carbon nanofibers

In this study, three different acrylonitrile (AN)‐based polymers, including polyacrylonitrile (PAN), poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐vinyl acetate) [P(AN‐co‐VAc)], and poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐itaconic acid) [P(AN‐co‐IA)], were used as precursors to synthesize activated carbon nanofibers (ACNFs). An electrospinning method was used to produce nanofibers. Oxidative stabilization, carbonization, and finally, activation through a specific heating regimen were applied to the electrospun fibers to produce ACNFs. Stabilization, carbonization, and activation were carried out at 230, 600, and 750 °C, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and porosimetry were used to characterize the fibers in each step. According to the fiber diameter variation measurements, the pore extension procedure overcame the shrinkage of the fibers with copolymer precursors. However, the shrinkage process dominated the scene for the PAN homopolymer, and this led to an increase in the fiber diameter. The 328 m²/g Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area for ACNFs with PAN precursor were augmented to 614 and 564 m²/g for P(AN‐co‐VAc) and P(AN‐co‐IA), respectively. The TGA results show that the P(AN‐co‐IA)‐based ACNFs exhibited a higher thermal durability in comparison to the fibers of PAN and P(AN‐co‐VAc). The application of these copolymers instead of AN homopolymer enhanced the thermal stability and increased the surface area of the ACNFs even in low‐temperature carbonization and activation processes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44381.     

Nanostructured polymer blends based on polystyrene‐b‐polybutadiene‐b‐poly(methyl methacrylate) triblock copolymers modified with polystyrene and/or poly(methyl methacrylate) homopolymers

Morphologies of polymer blends based on polystyrene‐b‐ polybutadiene‐b ‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (SBM) triblock copolymer were predicted, adopting the phase diagram proposed by Stadler and co‐workers for neat SBM block copolymer, and were experimentally proved using atomic force microscopy. All investigated polymer blends based on SBM triblock copolymer modified with polystyrene (PS) and/or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) homopolymers showed the expected nanostructures. For polymer blends of symmetric SBM‐1 triblock copolymer with PS homopolymer, the cylinders in cylinders core?shell morphology and the perforated lamellae morphology were obtained. Moreover, modifying the same SBM‐1 triblock copolymer with both PS and PMMA homopolymers the cylinders at cylinders morphology was reached. The predictions for morphologies of blends based on asymmetric SBM‐2 triblock copolymer were also confirmed experimentally, visualizing a spheres over spheres structure. This work presents an easy way of using PS and/or PMMA homopolymers for preparing nanostructured polymer blends based on SBM triblock copolymers with desired morphologies, similar to those of neat SBM block copolymers. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry     

MesoDyn modeling study of the phase morphologies of miktoarm poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐poly(methyl methacrylate) copolymers doped with nanoparticles

Earlier studies have shown that poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blocks are compatible at 270 and 298 K, and that their Flory–Huggins interaction parameters have the same blending ratio dependence at both temperatures. At a much higher temperature (400 K), the behavior of PEO/PMMA blends is strikingly different as both components become incompatible, while the Flory–Huggins parameters are low. Here we investigate the effect of doping with nanoparticles on the degree of incompatibility of twelve miktoarm PEO‐b‐PMMA copolymers at 400 K. Since PEO tends to be semicrystalline and long chains aggregate easily, PEO‐rich and long‐chain copolymer blends feature the highest degree of incompatibility for all nanoparticle arrangements and present cubic phase morphologies. In addition, the largest nanoparticles can reinforce the microscopic phase separation of all PEO‐b‐PMMA copolymers. This shows that the main factor affecting the phase morphology is the size of the nanoparticles. Also, only the asymmetric Da3‐type PEO‐rich copolymers show a hexagonal cylindrical phase morphology, which illustrates the effect induced by the nanoparticles on the microscopic phase separation changes of the PEO‐b‐PMMA copolymers. These induced effects are also related to the composition and molecular architecture of the copolymers. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Surface properties of block and graft polystyrene–polydimethylsiloxane copolymers

The surface compositions of a series of polystyrene‐b‐polydimethylsiloxane (PS‐b‐PDMS) and polystyrene‐g‐polydimethylsiloxane (PS‐g‐PDMS) copolymers were investigated using ATR‐FTIR and XPS technique. The results showed that enrichment of PDMS soft segments occurred on the surface of the block copolymers as well as on that of graft copolymers. And the magnitude order of the enrichment was as follows: PS‐b‐PDMS > PS‐g‐PDMS, which was attributed to the facilitating of the movement of the PDMS segments in PS‐b‐PDMS copolymer. Meanwhile, the solvent type and the contact medium had influence on the accumulation of PDMS on the surfaces. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006     

Miscibility enhancement on the poly(vinylchloride)/poly(methylmethacrylate) blend and characterization by inverse gas chromatography: The corrected polymer–polymer interaction parameters from the probes dependency

The miscibility of poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(methylmethacrylate) (PVC/PMMA) system was improved by introducing some pyrrolidone units into the main chains of PMMA. For that purpose, we have synthesized two copolymers of poly(methylmethacrylate‐co‐vinylpyrrolidone) (MMVP) through a radical polymerization and carried out a comparative study of PVC/MMVP blends by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods. The adequacy of seven n‐alkane probes has been tested to determine the thermodynamic parameters. The miscibility of the two systems has been proved by a single T_g for each blend. This observation was also confirmed by DSC analysis. To highlight the presence of interaction and its intensity between PVC and MMVP in the blends, the polymer–polymer interaction parameters have been evaluated by IGC trough which the influence of the solute has been resolved. The Schneider approach confirmed the miscibility of these systems as the K deviates positively from unity. The miscibility has been appeared highlighted from the positive difference in surface energy between the pure polymers and their blends. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012