High-pressure solution blending of poly(ɛ-caprolactone) with poly(methyl methacrylate) in acetone + carbon dioxide

The miscibility of blends of poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL, Mw = 14,300) with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA, Mw = 15K or 540K) in acetone + CO2 mixed solvent has been explored. The liquid-liquid phase boundaries at different temperatures have been determined for mixtures containing 10 wt% total polymer blend, 50 wt% acetone and 40 wt% CO2. The PCL and PMMA contents of the blends were varied while holding the total polymer concentration at 10 wt%. The polymer blend solutions all displayed LCST-type behavior and required higher pressures than individual polymer components for complete miscibility. Complete miscibilities were achieved at pressures within 40 MPa. The DSC scans show that the blends are microphase-separated. The blends display the melting transition of PCL and the glass transition temperature of the PMMA phases. The presence of PMMA is found to influence the crystallization and melting behavior of PCL in the blends. The DSC results on heat of melting and the FTIR spectra, specifically the changes at 1295 cm−1 band show the changes (decrease) in overall crystallinity of the blend upon addition of PMMA.