In this talk I will show how a simple theory, derived from first principles and applied using data on pure component bulk properties, can illuminate and predict trends in polymer miscibility, both for solutions and blends.  A key concept is that the characterization of pure components must be carried out in a systematic way; doing so reveals strong correlations between bulk behaviour and theoretically-derived pure component 'character'.  Another important point is that capturing the thermodynamic nature of a component may well require the consideration of more than one metric; hence, for example, the failure of using only a quantity such as the cohesive energy density to predict mixture trends.  Applications to be discussed include polyolefins, supercritical solutions, effects of deuteration, and discussion of trends related to upper versus lower critical solution behaviour, and glass transitions.

Predicting polymer miscibility using a simple theory and pure component data

248th National Meeting (2014)

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