Development of studies concerning analysis of the porous structure and solubility of polymers

A review of the studies concerning the porous structure and solubility of polymers is given. The studies in these domains undertaken in conjunction with A.A. Tager and her colleagues are briefly outlined; their development at the Laboratory of Polymeric Materials of the Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, is described in more detail. Problems related to the detailed analysis of temperature dependences of the coefficients of molecular packing, the densities, and the molar volumes of polymers are discussed; this makes it possible to make more accurate predictions of these characteristics on the basis of the chemical structure of the polymer and to determine the fractional free volume. The proposed approach to the description of solubility and miscibility of polymers is discussed for a number of specific examples. The dependences of the glass-transition temperatures on the compositions of poly(vinyl methyl ether)-polystyrene and poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)-polystyrene blends are plotted.