Reaction-induced miscibility in blends comprised of bisphenol-A polycarbonate and poly(trimethylene terephthalate)

Abstract

The inherent miscibility and effects of reaction-induced changes on the phase behaviour of blends of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) with bisphenol-A polycarbonate (PC) were studied. The as-prepared (solution-cast) blends exhibited two well-spaced and separated glass transition temperatures (T _gs) and a heterogeneous phase-separated morphology, indicating an immiscible system. However, after annealing at high temperature (at 260 °C), the blends’ original two T _gs merged into one single T _g, and the annealed blends exhibited a homogeneous morphology, and turned from having a semicrystalline into having an amorphous nature upon extended annealing. The annealing-induced changes of phase behaviour in the blends were analyzed. The homogenization process of the blends upon heating is attributed to chemical transreactions between the PTT and PC chain segments, as evidenced with FT-IR characterization. The IR result showed a new aryl C-O vibration peak at 1,070 cm⁻¹ for the annealed blends, which is characteristic of an aromatic polyester structure formed from exchange reactions between PTT and PC. The transreactions between PTT and PC led to a random copolymer comprised of PC/PTT segments, which is believed to serve as a compatibilizer at the beginning stage of transreactions, but at later stage, the random copolymer became the main species of blends and turned to a homogeneous and amorphous phase.