Polymer Chemistry

Polymer Blends

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A polymer blend or polymer mixture is a member in which at least two polymers are blended together to create a new material with different physical properties. Polymer blends are physical mixtures of two or more polymers with/without any chemical bonding between them. The objective of polymer blending is a practical one of achieving commercially viable products through either unique properties or lower cost than some other means might provide. Blending technology also provides attractive opportunities for reuse and recycling of polymer wastes. When two or more polymers are mixed, the phase structure of the resulting material can be either miscible or immiscible. Due to their high molar mass, the entropy of mixing of polymers is relatively low and consequently specific interactions are needed to obtain blends, which are miscible or homogeneous on a molecular scale. This session will include discussion on thermodynamics and compatibilisation of polymer blends and its applications. Compatibilisation is very useful for improving the dispersity in polymer blends. Additionally, medical polymers may be blended with specialized additives for enhanced properties to achieve specific functional requirements.