Morphological and thermal characterization of interpolymer complexes and blends based on poly(acrylic acid) and hydroxypropylcellulose

Interpolymer complexes and blends were prepared based on poly(acrylic acid) and hydroxypropylcellulose. The structural features of polycomplexes and blends were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and thermal analysis. It was found that the interpolymer complex obtained as a result of co-precipitation of the polymeric components is characterized by an uniform structure which indicates the complete miscibility between the components. Films were prepared based on blends of neutralized poly(acrylic acid) and hydroxypropylcellulose. In this case the two components resulted immiscible because of the lack of intermolecular hydrogen bonding. (C) 2004 Society of Chemical Industry.