Chemical Reactions on Miscible Polymer Blends: Oxidation

在对可混溶聚合物共混物的化学反应进行研究的领域中，除了化学反应活性之外，形态学控制的机会对最终材料的性能有着重要的影响，特别是在具有临界溶液温度的聚合物共混物中，反应温度的变化会影响混溶性、相分离和化学反应活性。将对聚苯乙烯（PS）和聚乙烯基甲基醚（PVME）的混相共混物进行氧化研究。PVME比聚苯乙烯更容易光氧化和热氧化，这使得它们与氧气的反应性差异很大。先前的研究表明，均聚物的吸氧速率明显不同于共混物的吸氧速率。研究将包括：通过使用模型化合物来理解PS/PVME共混物氧化稳定现象的机械化学方面，对聚合物体系氧化实验中直接获得的降解产物进行进一步的研究，特定相互作用（如氢键）对这些体系中的混相和氧化老化的影响，将这些概念扩展到其他体系，以及添加抗氧化剂的效果及其分布。

Research on chemical reactions on miscible polymer blends is an area in which the opportunities for morphological control on top of chemical reactivity have important implications in regard to final materials properties, especially in polymer blends having critical solution temperatures where changes in reaction temperature affect miscibility, phase separation, and chemical reactivity. Oxidative studies will be carried out on miscible blends of poly(styrene) (PS) and poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME). PVME photo-oxidizes and thermo-oxidizes much more readily than polystyrene -- allowing for large differences in reactivity with oxygen. Prior studies have indicated that the rates of oxygen uptake by the homopolymers are significantly different than that of the blends. The research will involve - understanding the mechanistic chemical aspects of the oxidative stabilization phenomena for PS/PVME blends by use of model compounds, additional studies on the degradation products directly obtained from their oxidation experiments on the polymer systems, the effect of specific interactions such as hydrogen bonding on miscibility and oxidative aging in these systems, extension of these concepts into other systems, and the effect of added antioxidants and their distribution.