Chemical Interaction-Induced Evolution of Phase Compatibilization in Blends of Poly(hydroxy ether of bisphenol-A)/Poly(1,4-butylene terephthalate)

Abstract

An immiscible blend of poly(hydroxy ether of bisphenol-A) (phenoxy) and poly(1,4-butylene terephthalate) (PBT) with phase separation was observed in as-blended samples. The compatibilization of phenoxy/PBT blends can be promoted through chemical exchange reactions of phenoxy with PBT upon annealing. The annealed phenoxy/PBT blends had a homogeneous phase with a single Tg that could be enhanced by annealing at 260 °C. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy demonstrated that phase homogenization could be promoted by annealing the phenoxy/PBT blend, where alcoholytic exchange occurred between the dangling hydroxyl group (–OH) in phenoxy and the carbonyl group (C=O) in PBT in the heated blends. The alcoholysis reaction changed the aromatic linkages to aliphatic linkages in the carbonyl groups, which initially led to the formation of a graft copolymer of phenoxy and PBT with an aliphatic/aliphatic carbonyl link. The progressive alcoholysis reaction resulted in the transformation of the initial homopolymers into block copolymers and finally into random copolymers, which promoted phase compatibilization in blends of phenoxy with PBT. As the amount of copolymers increased upon annealing, the crystallization of PBT was inhibited by alcoholytic exchange in the blends.

Optimization of the Physical Properties of HDPE/PU Blends through Improved Compatibility and Electron Beam Crosslinking

“…When blending polymers with different phases (e.g., polar and non-polar), they are not uniformly mixed, and phase separation occurs to produce materials in a rough and unstable state, and materials are prepared with weak mechanical and thermal properties [30,31]; therefore, to compensate for this limitation, it is possible to stably and uniformly blend the polymer with compatibilizers [32,33]. The compatibilizer is added to the immiscible polymers during blending and helps to stably mix the polymers [34][35][36]; therefore, we determined the optimal blending conditions by controlling the content of PE-g-MA for a uniform and stable blending of the non-polar polymer HDPE and polar polymer PU. PE-g-MA is a representative compatibilizer and has the role of enhancing the compatibility Polymers 2022, 14, 3607 4 of 11 between polar and non-polar materials [37].…”

Self-Healing and Mechanical Properties of Thermoplastic Polyurethane/Eugenol-Based Phenoxy Resin Blends via Exchange Reactions

“…Goh et al studied the miscibility behavior of various phenoxy/polymethacrylate blends [13]. Other phenoxy blends are also available that undergo transreaction or exchange reaction during mixing at high temperature such as poly (1,4-butylene adipate)/phenoxy [9], PBT/phenoxy [14], and poly (trimethylene terephthalate)/phenoxy blends [15].…”