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Calculation and experimental verification of concentration profiles for selected species at the interphase generated by diffusion in polymer pairs

✍ Scribed by J. Pablo Tomba; José M. Carella


Publisher
John Wiley and Sons
Year
1999
Tongue
English
Weight
262 KB
Volume
37
Category
Article
ISSN
0887-6266

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✦ Synopsis


A method for calculating diffusion rates for individual species in concentrated regime is outlined. The effects of monomeric friction coefficient, Flory-Huggins thermodynamic interaction parameter, individual species molecular weights, local molecular weights distribution, and local T g are precisely calculated. The method is used to calculate individual concentration profiles generated by diffusion of multicomponent polymer blends, and experimentally tested. Polystyrene with a bimodal molecular weight distribution is allowed to diffuse in a blend of polyphenylene oxide and polystyrene. Local physical properties change markedly along the interdiffusion path and, therefore, this is a demanding test for the proposed calculation method. The simulated concentration profiles are compared with results obtained by using two independent experimental techniques: Raman spectroscopy and dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). The total polystyrene (PS) concentration profiles, calculated using the proposed method, agree well with Raman spectroscopy results. Simulated DMA results-which are sensitive to the PS species molecular weight distribution-obtained using the concentration profiles, calculated for each PS molecular weight species agree well with the experimental DMA results. Calculations based on average molecular weights give incorrect results.