Miscibility of TPU(PCL diol)/PCL Blend and its Effect on PCL Crystallinity

  • Published : 2006.10.13

Abstract

Poly(${\varepsilon}-caprolactone$) (PCL) is a highly crystalline polymer that is miscible with several amorphous polymers including chlorinated polyether, poly(vinylchloride), poly(hydroxyether) and Bisphenol A polycarbonate. The crystallization behavior of miscible blend of amorphous/crystalline polymers has widely been studied. Generally a depression of the crystallization ability has been found with addition of amorphous component because of the reduction of chain mobility, the change of free energy of nucleation as a result of a specific interaction, and so on [1]. In this work, for the first time, the blend of PCL and copolymer of polyurethane containing polycaprolactone as a soft segment is considered. The structural similarity of TPU soft segment with PCL affects on formation of the miscible component and crystallization behavior of PCL in the blend. This has been studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Wide-angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS).

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