Poly(styrene-b-vinylphenyldimethylsilanol) and its blends with homopolymers

Block copolymers of vinylphenyldimethylsilanol (VPDMS) and styrene were synthesized by living anionic polymerization of vinylphenyldimethylsilane and styrene with sec-butyllithium as initiator in THF at -78 degrees C, followed by an oxygen insertion reaction via oxyfunctionalization, in part or all, with. dimethyldioxirane. The resulting silanol group (=Si-OH) at the 4-position of the styrene copolymer acts as a hydrogen bond donor, thus enhancing miscibility with polymers containing hydrogen bond accepting groups. The block copolymers containing varying amounts of silanol groups and their blends with poly(n-butylmethylmethylacrylate) (PBMA), poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVPr), and poly(vinylpyridine) (P4VPy) were characterized by temperature modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In blends with PBMA, the PVPDMS block is miscible with PBMA when it contains about 11-33% silanol groups, and the polystyrene blocks retain their identity as separate domains. These observations suggest microphase separation as the dominant mechanism. However, at higher silanol contents, the T-g results indicate the presence of three different domains and are indicative of a microphase-macrophase separation mechanism. The block copolymer containing 21% VPDMS units, PVPDMS-21, forms transparent films when blended with PVPr at all ratios; again, the PS blocks are unaffected, and the T-g results conform to the predictions of a microphase separation mechanism. There is also a positive deviation of the T-g of the mixed phase from the calculated weight-average value as a result of strong hydrogen bonding between the silanol and amide carbonyl groups. The interaction between pyridine and silanol group results in a large shift in the -OH stretching frequency (Delta v = 223 cm(-1)), indicative of strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding interaction which is evidenced also by the presence of the pyridinium structure in the FTIR spectra. The strong interaction is responsible for microphase separation as the dominant mechanism in morphological development with a large synergistic T-g effect. On the basis of spectroscopic and T-g results, the relative strength of intermolecular hydrogen bonding in the blends can be ranked in the order P4VPy > PVPr > PBMA. The strength of the intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the homopolymer and the silanol containing block, in relation to the self-association of silanol groups, governs the mechanisms of morphological development, i.e., microphase separation versus microphase-macrophase separation.