Abstract: A series of poly(butyl methacrylate-co-4-vinyl pyridine) copolymers with varying 4-vinyl pyridine(VPy) contents were synthesized. Phenoxy resin was modified to different extents by acetylation. Viscometry and laser light scatering(LLS) were then used to study the dependence of complexation behavior on the densities of specific interaction groups, while DSC was used to investigate the bulk miscibility of the polymer blends. Combined with viscometry, LLS and DSC data, an complete immiscibility-miscibility-complexation phase map was obtained. Finally, XPS was used to investigate the surface composition of the polymer blends or complexes with different strengths of specific interactions and probe the effect of bulk miscibility states on the surface properties. It was found that interpolymer complexation can greatly eliminate the surface enrichment in polymer blends with different surface free energy.

Key words: Specific interactions, Hydrogen bonding, Phenoxy resin, Complexation, Surface characterization