Liquid–liquid phase separation in multicomponent polymer solutions. II. The critical state

Abstract

Theoretical and experimental evidence is put forward to prove that the determination of the phase-volume ratio as a function of temperature and concentration is a sensitive and simple means of determining the liquid–liquid critical state. Knowledge of the critical conditions permits very accurate calculations of the interaction parameter g in the free-energy function. In experiments with polystyrene–cyclohexane, g was found to depend on the concentration. The value of g and its concentration dependence agree very well with the results of osmotic measurements by Rehage and Palmen. In experiments with polyethylene–diphenyl ether, g proved to be independent of concentration in the range of measurement. The temperature function was found to be: g = −0.6086 + 482.2/T (at 137–148°C.). Gibbs' expressions for the critical conditions were worked out for a free-energy relation in the form of an extended Flory-Huggins function.