PHASE-STRUCTURE, MORPHOLOGY AND CRYSTALLIZATION OF POLY(ETHYLENE OXIDE)/POLY(DICYCLOHEXYLITACONATE) BLENDS

The paper discusses the influence of poly(dicyclohexylitaconate) (PDCHI) on the morphology and crystallization behavior of its blends with poly(ethylene oxide) as a function of composition and crystallization conditions. It was found that the morphology and the crystallization rate are strongly dependent on the blend composition. In particular the addition of PDCHI causes a depression of the overall crystallization rate. At a given crystallization temperature such a depression increases with the content of PDCHI. The morphological and the calorimetric analyses indicate that the blend components are immiscible. In fact the blends are characterized by a non-homogeneous melt, and on the DSC thermograms two glass transitions are always detected.