Thermal behaviour of polymer blends containing poly(mono-itaconates) and poly(thiocarbonates)

Six polymer blends of poly(mono-itaconates) with poly(thiocarbonates), both with different side chains, have been studied by DSC measurements. The variation of the glass transition temperature (T_g) as a function of the composition of the mixture has been investigated for different mixtures. Blends of poly(thiocarbonates) with poly(monomethyl itaconate) seem to be miscible over the whole range of compositions. All blends show only a single value for the glass transition temperature, intermediate between those of the poly(thiocarbonate) and the decomposition temperature of the poly(itaconate). These results suggest that these blends are miscible for every composition investigated. Blends containing poly(monoethyl itaconate) seem to give rise to a polymer-polymer complex. The k parameter of the Gordon-Taylor equation obtained for the former blends is 0.43, 0.48 and 0.51, for blends containing poly(thiocarbonates) with methyl, ethyl and propyl groups as the side chain, respectively.