Phenoxy resin: Characterization, solution properties, and inverse gas chromatography investigation of its potential miscibility with other polymers

A commercial sample of a copolymer of bisphenol-A and epichlorohydrin (Phenoxy) has been carefully fractionated in a dioxane/methanol mixture. Mark-Houwink constants in THF and the molecular weight distribution of the raw material have been obtained on the basis of the universal calibration procedure. Conformational magnitudes such as the characteristic ratio C_∞ or the steric factor σ have been determined from viscometric data at 63°C in a good (dioxane) and a θ-solvent (1,2-dichloroethane). Inverse gas chromatography was used to study phenoxy miscibility with a variety of polymers. Using different probes as model compounds, the partial molar enthalpy of mixing ΔH at infinite dilution has been determined. Results were correlated with the reported miscibility of phenoxy with polyesters, polyethers, and polyoxides. A linear multiparametric correlation of ΔH with polarizabilities, dipole moments, and hydrogen bond accepting powers provides for a comprehensive analysis of other miscible systems.