Polymer-polymer interactions via analog calorimetry. 3. Interaction between styrene and acrylonitrile repeat units

Analog calorimetry is used to study the interaction between styrene and acrylonitrile repeat units. Electrostatic charge calculations were used as a guide to divide the polymer repeat units and analogs into groups. A mean-field binary interaction model was used to evaluate group interaction energies. The enthalpic interaction energy for the styrene-acrylonitrile pair from this study is 7.63 ± 0.12 cal/cm3 which is consistent with values obtained from phase behavior studies of poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) blends. The cyano group, C(TRIPLE BOND)N, of the acrylonitrile repeat unit has a permanent dipole. The results of this study suggest that the orientation of this dipole with respect to the backbone of the acrylonitrile unit strongly affects its interaction with styrene repeat unit.