MISCIBILITY AND LOWER CRITICAL SOLUTION TEMPERATURE TYPE PHASE-BEHAVIOR OF POLY(ETHYL ACRYLATE) POLY(VINYLIDENE FLUORIDE-CO-HEXAFLUORO ACETONE) BLENDS

The miscibility of mixtures of poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) with poly (vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoro acetone) (P(VDF-HFA)) was investigated with optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In PEA/P(VDF-HFA) blends with P(VDF-HFA) content of 50 and 70(wt%), the heterogeneous phase morphology was observed on optical micrographs at 210-degrees-C. It was found that PEA/P(VDF-HFA) blends showed the lower critical solution temperature type (LCST) phase behavior. The endothermic peak for PEA/P(VDF-HFA) blend observed on DSC thermogram near 200-degrees-C corresponded to the liquid-liquid phase transition temperature as shown in the heterogeneous phase morphology with optical microscopy. It was expected that the endothermic peak is the transition temperature from miscibility to immiscibility.