Effects of copolymer composition and free volume change on the miscibility of poly(styrene-co-vinylphenol) with poly(ε-caprolactone)

A series of poly(styrene-co-vinylphenol) (PSOH) copolymers were prepared and characterized. The miscibility and hydrogen bonding between the partially hydroxylated polystyrene with poly(is an element of -caprolactone) (PCL) blend were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The copolymers containing higher than 13 mol % vinylphenol were found to be fully miscible with PCL according to differential scanning calorimetry studies. Quantitative analyses on the fraction of hydrogen-bonded carbonyl groups in the solid state were made by FTIR spectroscopy, and good correlations between thermal behaviors and infrared results were observed. The critical vinylphenol content of 0.1 mol % in PSOH copolymer for the blend to be miscible was predicted from the Painter-Coleman association model and binary interaction model. The discrepancy between the experimental result and theoretical prediction is probably caused by significant free volume increase in this blend system, which is analyzed by the Kovacs' free volume theory. The free volume of the PSOH/PCL is increased which give a positive contribution in the Gibbs free energy. As a result, the polystyrene needs to incorporate more poly(vinylphenol) in PSOH copolymer in order to overcome the free energy increased caused by the free volume increase predicted by the Painter-Coleman association model and the binary interaction model.