Solution behavior of ionomer blends - I. Factors influencing interpolymer complexes of ionomer blends

The increase in reduced viscosities of sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) ionomer/poly(styrene-4-vinylpyridine) (PSVP), zinc neutralized sulfonate poly(phenylene oxide) (ZnSPPO)/PSVP and SPPO ionomer/aminated PPO blends in chloroform/methanol (96/4 v/v) mixed solvent was studied as a function of blend composition. It was suggested that the ion interactions in these ionomer blends resulted in interpolymer complexes, which increased the viscosity accordingly, compared with comparable precursor blends not containing ionic groups. The results;were further compared with previous studies on solution behavior of SPS ionomer/PSVP blends in DMF and SPPO/PSVP blends in chloroform/methanol. The effects of solvent, structure of the backbone to which functional groups are chemically bonded and the properties of the functional groups are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.