FACTOR-ANALYSIS AND FOURIER-TRANSFORM INFRARED-SPECTRA OF COMPATIBLE BLENDS OF POLYPHENYLENE OXIDES AND POLYSTYRENE

Fourier transform infrared spectra has been obtained of compatible blends of polyphenylene oxide (PPO) and polystyrene (PS). An incompatible blend of polyphenylene oxide and poly(4-chlorostyrene) (P4C1S) was also studied. Factor analysis was used to determine the number of components in the blend system. The data indicated that three components existed in the PPO/PS compatible system and only two in the PPO/P4C1S system. The interaction spectrum in the compatible blend was determined by a double-subtraction technique and used to analyze the blend system for the magnitude of the interaction as a function of composition. The interaction was maximum at a 70/30 composition in agreement with other data.