C. Cardelli et al., Compatibility range in polymer mixtures. An approach using analogue calorimetry and group contribution procedures, J THERM ANA, 62(1), 2000, pp. 135-151
The mixing enthalpies of blends of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) with poly(
styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (SAN) were investigated by analogue calorimetry t
hrough the determination of the excess enthalpies of pseudobinary model mix
tures corresponding to the addition of methyl-i-butyrate to a binary mixtur
e of acetonitrile or propionitrile plus toluene or ethylbenzene.
A group contribution procedure, based on UNIQUAC equation, was also devised
and the polymeric mixing enthalpies were calculated from properly defined
group contributions. Enthalpies for polymeric interactions were introduced
into the Flory-Huggins equation and the miscibility window of PMMA-SAN mixt
ures was calculated.
The results show a qualitative agreement with the experimental miscibility
data and indicate that both the analogue calorimetry and the group contribu
tion procedures yield correct results when acetonitrile, and not propionitr
ile, is chosen as the model for the polyacrylonitrile repeat unit of the co
polymer.