| Abstract: | Ethylene/ethyl acrylate/carbon monoxide ter polymers (E/ EA/CO) can exhibit a very high degree of miscibility with poly(vinyl chloride) as determined from dynamic mechanical measurements. The blends yield transparent films and show a large amorphous phase which exhibits only one major glass transition. However, some crystallinity can be detected and has been measured by differential, scanning calorimetry. Residual crystallinity is at least partially due to the somewhat non-uniform nature of the terpolymerization. The acrylate monomer exhibits faster polymerization rates than the other two constituents. By contrast, ethylene/ethyl acrylat copolymers are not miscible with poly(vinyl chloride). The addition of carbon monoxide to the termpolymer structure is believed to yield miscibility with poly(vinyl chloride) via specific interaction of the ketone carbonyl of the terpolymer (proton acceptor) and the tertiary hydrogen of poly(vinyl chloride) (proton donor). This specific interaction allows for a broad range of terpolymer compositions which retain miscibility with polyvinyl chloride. Similar results are also observed with ethylene/vinyl acetate/carbon monoxide (E/VA/CO) as well as ethylene/2-ethylhexyl acrylate/carbon monoxide termpojymers. The vinyl acetate terpolymers (and their blends) display a lower degree of crystallinity than the E/EA/ CO. This is consistent with the more uniform nature of the E/VAJCO terpolymerization. |
