DILUTE-SOLUTION VISCOMETRIC STUDY OF POLYMER-SOLVENT INTERACTIONS IN POLY(VINYL CHLORIDE) PLASTICIZER SYSTEMS

The intrinsic viscosity, [eta], measurements have been performed on th e solutions of a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) resin in various plasticiz ers including the esters of the phthalic and phosphoric acids. A class ical Flory equation pertaining to the linear expansion factor of the c oiling chain in solution is invoked to translate the [eta] to the poly mer-solvent interaction parameter, chi. The results obtained are in ag reement with the literature data. The present work is also concerned w ith the temperature dependence of chi. This information is particularl y useful for estimating the lower critical solution temperature, theta (L), as well as comparing the solvent qualities of the plasticizers us ed. In addition, the present findings are explicable by the equation-o f-state theory.