Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Impact of Molecular Weight on the Thermal Stability and the Miscibility of Poly(ε-caprolactone)/Polystyrene Binary Blends

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Polymers and the Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and two different molecular weight (6K and 650K) of polystyrene (PS) were mixed in solution to prepare binary blends of PCL/PS with various compositions. The impact of the molecular weight of PS in the blends was studied on thermal stability and miscibility by the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) method. The TGA results under dynamic conditions in an inert atmosphere show that the thermal stability of the blends depends on the length of PS molecules. The increase of the low molecular weight PS into the PCL/PS blend reduces the thermal stability while the high molecular weight PS improves the thermal stability. The crystallization peak temperature, enthalpy, and crystallinity of the blends are found molecular weight dependent; these parameters with blend compositions deviate from linearity of additive law for low molecular weight PS, while they do follow the additive law for high molecular weight PS. A significant melting point depression of PCL crystals with composition was observed for the blends with the incorporation of the low molecular weight PS, while the no significant melting temperature depression was observed for the high molecular weight PS. The experimental results clearly indicate that in the PCL/PS blends, the thermal stability and the interaction between the neat components strongly depend on the molecular weight of the PS.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Chu B, Hsiao BS (2001) Small-angle X-ray scattering of polymers. Chem Rev 101(6):1727–1762

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Wan Y, Feng G, Shen FH, Laurencin CT, Li X (2008) Biphasic scaffold for annulus fibrosus tissue regeneration. Biomaterials 29(6):643–652

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Li Y, Stein M, Jungnickel BJ (1991) Competition between crystallization and phase separation in polymer blends I. Diffusion controlled supermolecular structures and phase morphologies in poly(ε-caprolactone)/polystyrene blends. Colloid Polym Sci 269(8):772–780

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Di Lorenzo ML, Pietra PL, Errico ME, Righetti MC, Angiuli M (2007) Poly(butylene terephthalate)/poly(ε-caprolactone) blends: miscibility and thermal and mechanical properties. Polym Eng Sci 47(3):323–329

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Biresaw G, Carriere CJ (2004) Compatibility and mechanical properties of blends of polystyrene with biodegradable polyesters. Compos Part A 35(3):313–320

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Woodruff MA, Hutmacher DW (2010) The return of a forgotten polymer Polycaprolactone in the 21st century. Prog Polym Sci 35(10):1217–1256

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Utracki LA (2003) Introduction to polymer blends. In: Polymer blends handbook. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 1–122

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. Goh SH (1993) Thermogravimetric study of the thermal stability of poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(vinyl acetate) blends. Thermochim Acta 215(0):291–296

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Klarić I, Roje U, Stipanelov N (1999) Kinetic investigation of thermooxidative degradation of poly(vinyl chloride)/acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene blends by isothermal thermogravimetric analysis. J Appl Polym Sci 71(5):833–839

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. McNeill IC (1997) Thermal degradation mechanisms of some addition polymers and copolymers. J Anal Appl Pyrol 40–41(0):21–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Vanoene H (1972) Modes of dispersion of viscoelastic fluids in flow. J Colloid Interface Sci 40(3):448–467

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Rosa DS, Guedes CGF, Casarin F, Bragança FC (2005) The effect of the Mw of PEG in PCL/CA blends. Polym Testing 24(5):542–548

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Li B, Esker AR (2007) Blends of poly(ε-caprolactone) and intermediate molar mass polystyrene as langmuir films at the air/water interface. Langmuir 23(2):574–581

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Ma M, He Z, Yang J, Chen F, Wang K, Zhang Q, Deng H, Fu Q (2011) Effect of film thickness on morphological evolution in dewetting and crystallization of polystyrene/poly(ε-caprolactone) blend films. Langmuir 27(21):13072–13081

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Nojima S, Ono M, Ashida T (1992) Crystallization of block copolymers II. Morphological study of poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone) block copolymers. Polym J 24(11):1271–1280

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Múgica A, Calahorra ME, Cortázar M (2002) Compositional variation of glass-transition temperature in miscible polymer blends involving weak and strong specific interactions. Macromol Chem Phys 203(8):1088–1098

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Ruzette A-VG, Mayes AM (2001) A simple free energy model for weakly interacting polymer blends. Macromolecules 34(6):1894–1907

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Jin J, Du J, Chen H, Han CC (2011) Fluctuation-assisted nucleation in the phase separation/crystallization of iPP/OBC blends. Polymer 52(26):6161–6172

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Ma M, He Z, Li Y, Chen F, Wang K, Zhang Q, Deng H, Fu Q (2012) Surface phase separation, dewetting feature size, and crystal morphology in thin films of polystyrene/poly(ε-caprolactone) blend. J Colloid Interface Sci 387(1):262–269

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Mamun A, Mareau VH, Chen J, Prud’homme RE (2014) Morphologies of miscible PCL/PVC blends confined in ultrathin films. Polymer 55(9):2179–2187

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Mamun A, Bazuin CG, Prud’homme RE (2015) Morphologies of various polycaprolactone/polymer blends in ultrathin films. Macromolecules 48(5):1412–1417

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Siqueira G, Fraschini C, Bras J, Dufresne A, Prudhomme R, Laborie M-P (2011) Impact of the nature and shape of cellulosic nanoparticles on the isothermal crystallization kinetics of poly(ε-caprolactone). Eur Polym J 47(12):2216–2227

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Mamun A, Umemoto S, Okui N, Ishihara N (2007) Self-seeding effect on primary nucleation of isotactic polystyrene. Macromolecules 40(17):6296–6303

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Mamun A, Souier MT, Mujibur Rahman SM, Al-Harthi SH, Munam A (2017) Miscibility and thermal stability of ethyl vinyl acetate and ethylene-octane copolymer blends. Polym Sci Ser A 59(3):397–404

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Zhang X, Wang Z, Han CC (2006) Fine structures in phase-separated domains of a polyolefin blend via spinodal decomposition. Macromolecules 39(21):7441–7445

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Wang H, Shimizu K, Hobbie EK, Wang Z-G, Meredith JC, Karim A, Amis EJ, Hsiao BS, Hsieh ET, Han CC (2001) Phase diagram of a nearly isorefractive polyolefin blend. Macromolecules 35(3):1072–1078

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Wu T, Li Y, Zhang D-L, Liao S-Q, Tan H-M (2004) Study on the morphology and properties of metallocene polyethylene and ethylene/vinyl acetate blends. J Appl Polym Sci 91(2):905–910

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Nishi T, Wang TT (1975) Melting point depression and kinetic effects of cooling on crystallization in poly(vinylidene fluoride)-poly(methyl methacrylate) mixtures. Macromolecules 8(6):909–915

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Eastmond G, Hocker H, Klee D (1999) Biomedical applications polymer blends. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Chemistry Department, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Oman for the experimental facilities. One of the authors (Al Mamun) would like to thanks the Department of Physics of the SQU for hosting him as a Visiting Faculty during which this work has been completed.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, College of Science, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

    Al Mamun & S. M. Mujibur Rahman

  2. PIMM, ENSAM/CNRS/CNAM, UMR 8006, 151 boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75013, Paris, France

    Sébastien Roland

  3. Department of Physics and Engineering, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA, 16057, USA

    Rizwan Mahmood

Authors
  1. Al Mamun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. M. Mujibur Rahman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sébastien Roland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Rizwan Mahmood
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Al Mamun.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 36 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mamun, A., Rahman, S.M.M., Roland, S. et al. Impact of Molecular Weight on the Thermal Stability and the Miscibility of Poly(ε-caprolactone)/Polystyrene Binary Blends. J Polym Environ 26, 3511–3519 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-018-1236-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-018-1236-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation