Polymer blends and alloys

Abstract

Abstract The state of thermodynamic miscibility of a polymer blend and its resulting phase behavior and mechanical properties is largely determined by the balance between enthalpic and entropic contributions to the free energy of mixing. Recent applications of this thermodynamic consideration are reviewed for a variety of binary and ternary blends of homopolymers and copolymers. Recent advances in predicting polymer blend miscibility and Lower Critical Solution Temperature behavior from liquid heats of mixing data, through use of a modified Guggenheim quasichemical model combined with the Sanchez lattice fluid model are discussed. Qualitative application of partial miscibility ideas to interfacial adhesion in multiphase polymer blends is also presented.