Equation-of-State Analysis of Miscible Blends of Copolymers

可混溶聚合物共混物作为材料本身和实现多相混合物相容的策略是很有意义的。这项研究涉及当一个或两个组分都是共聚物时，设计可混溶聚合物对的机会。一种现代的状态方程方法可能会提供一种理性的理论，可以根据最少的信息做出预测。这项研究将聚合物合成、表征(分子、热、体积等)和仔细的相图测定集成到一个方案中，该方案允许计算各种单体重复单元对的相互作用能(剔除可压缩性的复杂影响)，即使它们在能量上抵抗混合。重点放在各种聚碳酸酯、由苯乙烯、甲基丙烯酸甲酯、丙烯腈形成的共聚物以及含有功能性反应性单体的聚合物上。我们的目标是完善这一方案，产生一个可靠的二元相互作用能矩阵，以便从多组分聚合物中准确设计可混溶的共混，并确定在反应性增容领域特别有用的共混概念。这项研究将有助于不断增长的聚合物混合物领域，聚合物混合物正越来越多地被用作工程塑料，也经常出现在回收塑料中。更好地了解这些用途背后的基本原理对于进一步取得进展至关重要。

Miscible polymer blends are of interest as materials in their own right and for implementing strategies for compatibilizing multiphase mixtures. This research deals with the opportunities for designing miscible polymer pairs when one or both components are copolymers. A modern equation-of-state approach is likely to provide a rational theory that can make predictions from minimal information. This research integrates polymer synthesis, characterization (molecular, thermal, volumetric, etc), and careful phase-diagram determination into a scheme that allows calculation of interaction energies (stripped of the complicating effects of compressibility) for various pairs of monomer repeat units, even when they energetically resist mixing. The focus is on a variety of polycarbonates, copolymers formed from styrene, methyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile, and polymers containing functionally reactive monomers. The goals are to perfect this scheme, to produce a reliable matrix of binary interaction energies that will allow accurate design of miscible blends from multicomponent polymers, and to identify blend concepts that will be useful especially in the area of reactive compatibilization. This research will help the growing field of polymer mixtures, which are increasingly being used as engineering plastics and are also commonly found in recycled plastics. A better understanding of the fundamentals underlying these uses is essential to further progress.