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Thermal behavior, morphology, and the determination of the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter of polycarbonate–polystyrene blends
Author(s) -
Kim Woo Nyon,
Burns Charles M.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.1987.070340307
Subject(s) - polycarbonate , polystyrene , materials science , polymer blend , extrusion , miscibility , glass transition , casting , flory–huggins solution theory , polymer , polymer chemistry , phase (matter) , scanning electron microscope , composite material , copolymer , chemistry , organic chemistry
Blends of bisphenol‐A polycarbonate (PC) and polystyrene (PS) prepared by screw extrusion and solution casting have been investigated with weight fractions of PC in the blends varying from 0.95 to 0.05. From the measured glass transition temperatures ( T g ) and specific heat increments (Δ C p ) at the T g , the polystyrene appears to dissolve more in the PC phase than does the PC in the PS phase. The blend appears to be near eqilibrium under extrusion conditions so that the polymer–polymer interaction parameter of PC/PS blends was calculated and found to be 0.038±0.004 for extruded blends at 250°C. Scanning electron microscopy supports the conclusion that the compatibility increases more in the region of PS‐rich compositions than in the regions of PC‐rich compositions of the PC/PS blends.