Cellulose alkyl ester/poly(ε-caprolactone) blends: characterization of miscibility and crystallization behaviour

Cellulose valerate (CV)/poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) blends were investigated to clarify the effect of the degree of substitution (DS) of the cellulose ester component on the miscibility. CVs of DS > 2.15 were miscible with PCL in their amorphous states, as judged from the detection of a single T g by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This result and other complementary data for cellulose acetate (CA), propionate (CP), and butyrate (CB) blends with PCL made up a miscibility map as a function of the number N of carbons in the normal acyl substituent as well as of DS. CB of N = 4 and CV of N = 5, the ester side-chains of which make a higher similarity in chemical structure with a repeating unit of PCL, were found to be miscible with the aliphatic polyester at a comparatively lower DS; the critical butyryl DS of ~1.85 being still lower than 2.15. For PCL-rich compositions of CB(DS > 2.0)/PCL and CV(DS > 2.2)/PCL blends, isothermal melt-crystallization behaviour was characterized by calorimetry and polarized optical microscopy. The CB and CV components gave rise to a marked diminution of the crystallization rate of PCL, as a result of the diluent action of the cellulose esters in the respective miscible, molten mixtures. Through a quantitative analysis of the kinetics, it is suggested regarding the supramolecular morphology that the bulky cellulose esters would be trapped not only on the fold surfaces but also on the growth faces of PCL lamellar crystals, to form a non-crystalline mixed polymer phase in the crystal boundary regions.