SELF-ASSOCIATION VERUS INTERASSOCIATION IN HYDROGEN-BONDED POLYMER BLENDS .1. DETERMINATION OF EQUILIBRIUM-CONSTANTS FROM MISCIBLE POLY(2,6-DIALKYL-4-VINYL PHENOL) BLENDS

Equilibrium constants that describe the self-association of poly(2,6-d imethyl-4-vinyl phenol) and poly(2,6-diisopropyl-4-vinyl phenol) toget her with their interassociation to complimentary (co)polymers that con tain carbonyl moeties, such as methacrylates and acetoxy groups, have been determined from i.r. studies of miscible polymer blend systems co ntaining poly(n-butyl methacrylate) and an ethylene-co-vinyl acetate c opolymer. A comparison of these equilibrium constant values with those previously determined for analogous poly(4-vinyl phenol) (PVPh) blend s reveals that interassociation is accentuated over self-association i n the case of the partially hindered poly(2,6-dialkyl-4-vinyl phenol)s . This is a favourable trend for polymer blend miscibility. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.