THE SYSTEM POLY(4-HYDROXYSTYRENE) (POLY(VINYL ACETATE))ACETONE - AN EXPERIMENTAL AND THEORETICAL-STUDY

In an effort to assess the intermolecular interactions between poly(4- hydroxystyrene)a) (P4HS) and poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc), two types of experimental measurements were conducted: volumetric properties and va por pressures of solutions in a common solvent (probe). The PVT measur ements for a 50:50 (w/w) binary polymer mixture were conducted over a pressure range from 0 to 100 MPa and a temperature range from 350 to 4 70 K. The vapor pressures of acetone over a series of ternary systems acetone/P4HS/PVAc, and for four intermediate weight ratios PVAc/P4HS, were measured at 298,15 K, 308,15 K and 318,15 K. PVAc and P4HS intera ct primarily through hydrogen bonding. The probe molecule (acetone) on the other hand interacts also through hydrogen bonding with P4HS. A r ecent equation-of-state theory of hydrogen bonding has been used to co rrelate these measurements. Application of the theory was requiring th e knowledge of the volumetric behavior of pure P4HS. Extensive PVT mea surements for this polymer have also been conducted. The PVT measureme nts for the polymer mixture were used in order to estimate the hydroge n bonding parameters for the hydroxyl-ester pair. The vapor pressures of the system acetone/P4HS were used in order to estimate the hydrogen bonding parameters of the hydroxyl-carbonyl pair. On the basis of thi s information the theory was used to predict the vapour pressures of t he ternary system. The theoretical predictions are in quantitative agr eement with the experiments.