Miscibility Study of Poly(Butylene Succinate) and Pine-Gum Blends

摘要

Miscibility between poly(butylene succinate) [PBS], a semi-crystalline polymer with a natural gum extracted from the pine tree {Pinus Caribaea - Hondurensis), was investigated in solution cast blends using Differential Scanning Calorimetry [DSC] and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy [FTIR]. The spherulite morphology of PBS in the blends was observed with polarized optical microscopy [POM]. Depression in the equilibrium melting temperature of PBS in the blends was determined using the Hoffman-Weeks plot method. The depression in the crystallization temperature of the blends with increasing pine gum ratio and the emergence of extinction rings in the spherulites of the blends confirmed the blends to be miscible at the molecular level. Infrared spectroscopy indicated that interactions occurred between the hydroxyl groups of the pine-gum and the carbonyl group of PBS.