X-ray diffraction study of the solubility of low molecular substances in polymers

Abstract

The solubility of certain low molecular substances (ferrocene, pentaerythritol, anthracene, etc.) in polymers (PE, POE, PMMA, etc.) has been studied at various temperatures by means of a variable temperature X-ray diffractometer. An approximate phase diagram has been plotted for the system ferrocene-PE, on which four separate regions can be separated. At concentrations up to 20%, ferrocene also dissolves in polyoxyethylene (POE) at 70°C, 110°C below its melting point. It has been found that benzanilide dissolves in POE but not in PE. In a number of binary systems, pentaerythritol-PE, hydroquinone-PE, etc., there was no observation of any interaction between the components that would lead to the solution of the low molecular component in the polymer. The solubility curve for anthracene in the amorphous polymer PMMA has been constructed. Two regions may be separated on the diagram plotted for anthracene-PMMA: solid solutions of anthracene in PMMA and a mixture of these solid solutions with crystalline anthracene. © 1978.