COMPATIBILITY IN POLY(ETHYLENE OXIDE)-POL Y(VINYL ACETATE) BLENDS

The structure of films fabricated of PEO-PVA blends was examined and t he hermodynamic compatibility of the components was evaluated using WA XS, low-angle light scattering, inversed phase gas chromatography, and polarization microscopy. The polymers were found to be compatible in the melt; at temperatures below T-m of PEO, a microheterogeneous syste m was formed. The mobility of structural elements in PEO-PVA blends wa s examined by dielectric spectroscopy in the temperature range -60 to + 60 degrees C. Blending PVA with PEO is accompanied by changes in the relaxation characteristics of the blends, which suggest enhanced mobi lity of structural units in amorphous regions and, to some extent, in imperfect regions of PEO lamellae. The last feature accounts for the d iffusion transport of metal ions in a matrix of the polymer blend exam ined. As a result, the PEO-PVA system appears to be quite promising fo r fabrication of various thin-film electrochemical devices.