Phase behavior and spinodal phase separation kinetics in binary blends of a random copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and trifluoroethylene
(75/25) [P(VDF/TrFE)] and poly(1,4-butylene adipate) (PBA) have been investigated by means of optical microscopic observation
and time-resolved light scattering. The blends exhibited a typical lower critical solution temperature (LCST)∼34 °C above
the melting temperature of the P(VDF/TrFE) crystals over the entire blend composition range. P(VDF/TrFE) and PBA were totally
miscible in the temperature gap between the melting point of P(VDF/TrFE) and the LCST. Temperature jump experiments of the
3/7 P(VDF/TrFE)/PBA blend were carried out on a light-scattering apparatus from a single-phase melt state (180 °C) to a two-phase
region (205∼215 °C). Since the late stage of spinodal decomposition (SD) is prevalent in the 3/7 blend, SD was analyzed using
a power law scheme. Self-similarity was preserved well in the late stage of SD in the 3/7 blend.
Keywords P(VDF/TrFE) - Poly(1,4-butylene adipate) - Miscible blend - Spinodal phase separation