Preparation and characterization of poly(3-octyl thiophene)/polyvinyl chloride polymer blends

Different weight ratios of poly(3-octyl thiophene) / polyvinyl chloride blends were prepared using the casting method by dissolving poly(3-octyl thiophene) and polyvinyl chloride polymers in chloroform and Tetrahydrofuran, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicates the existence of carbonyl group in both polyvinyl chloride neat and poly(3-octyl thiophene)-polyvinyl chloride blends. Electrical measurements reveal that the impedance values are increased with the increasing of both weight fraction of poly(3-octyl thiophene) and temperature. Optical results reveal that the increase of poly(3-octyl thiophene) weight fraction in blends enhances the UV-visible absorption of polyvinyl chloride and reduces the optical energy gap of blends. Differential scanning calorimetric measurements and thermal gravimetric analysis show that the glass transition temperature value and thermal stability of blend increases with increasing of poly(3-octyl thiophene) weight ratio. The obtained results, generally, indicate that the increase of poly(3-octyl thiophene) weight fraction enhances the interaction between poly(3-octyl thiophene)-polyvinyl chloride chains and as a result will restrict the chain mobility of polymers.