SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYMER SMALL-MOLECULE BLENDS

Inverse gas chromatographic data have been obtained for polystyrene, p olycarbonate, and two substituted amines used as additives in the poly mers. Surface energies have been determined and evaluations made of ac id/base interaction parameters and Flory-Huggins chi values for the su rface bounded interphase. It was shown that acid/base considerations a re implicated in the miscibility of these polymer/additive systems. Su rface energy analyses showed that surface and bulk compositions in ble nds differed whether or not the blend components were miscible. Compos ition differences were the result of thermodynamic drives to minimize surface free energy. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.