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Conjugated dual-phase transitions in crystalline/crystalline blend of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(ethylene oxide)

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Abstract

Blends of two semi-crystalline polymers, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), were prepared via solution mixing method over the whole composition range. The research focuses on the liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) and miscibility window in the PVDF/PEO blends by employing several techniques. Small-amplitude oscillatory shear measurements were carried out to detect LLPS and determine spinodal and binodal decomposition temperatures in its early stages. An asymmetrical lower critical solution temperature (LCST) phase diagram was observed from dynamic temperature sweep experiments in which the system became immiscible after the solid–liquid phase transition (SLPS) temperatures in the PEO-rich blends. In fact, a one-way partial miscibility of PEO in the PVDF-rich phase blends was observed. The rheologically determined phase diagram was also verified by means of optical microscopy and cloud point technique. The results revealed that the PVDF/PEO blends undergo a viscoelastic phase separation (VPS). This was attributed to the large viscoelastic asymmetry of the components in the blend. A compressible regular solution free energy model was employed to determine the spinodal temperatures theoretically. The comparison between the experimental results and the mathematical modeling indicated that the model is able to predict the phase behavior qualitatively.

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Acknowledgments

Partial funding of this work by TUBITAK (Application No. 1059B161400878) is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would also like to thank Prof. Nazockdast at Amirkabir University of Technology for all his supports during the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Polymer Engineering and Color Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology, 424 Hafez Ave, P.O. Box 15875-4413, Tehran, Iran

    Mahboube Mohamadi & Hamid Garmabi

  2. Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, 34956, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mahboube Mohamadi & Melih Papila

Authors
  1. Mahboube Mohamadi
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  2. Hamid Garmabi
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  3. Melih Papila
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Correspondence to Hamid Garmabi.

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Mohamadi, M., Garmabi, H. & Papila, M. Conjugated dual-phase transitions in crystalline/crystalline blend of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(ethylene oxide). Polym. Bull. 74, 2117–2135 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-016-1827-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-016-1827-8

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