Complexation between poly(hydroxyether of bisphenol-A) and three tertiary amide polymers

The complexation behaviour between poly(hydroxyether of bisphenol-A) (phenoxy) and three isomeric tertiary amide polymers, namely poly(N-methyl-N-vinylacetamide) (PMVAc), poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA) and poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEOx), has been studied. Phenoxy forms interpolymer complexes with PMVAc and PDMA from tetrahydrofuran solutions over the entire feed composition range. However, complexation does not occur between phenoxy and PEOx from THF solutions, indicating a weaker intermolecular association in the phenoxy/PEOx blends than those in the phenoxy/PMVAc and phenoxy/PDMA blends. When using N,N-dimethylformamide as the solvent, only miscible blends are formed between phenoxy and all three tertiary amide polymers. Infra-red spectroscopic studies provide evidence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl groups in phenoxy and the carbonyl groups in tertiary amide polymers. The frequency shifts for the phenoxy hydroxyl group hydrogen bonded to the three tertiary amide polymers decrease in the order of PMVAc --> PDMA --> PEOx. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.