Studies on Miscibility of Sodium Alginate/Polyethylene Glycol Blends

Abstract

Miscibility studies have been conducted on solutions of blends of sodium alginate (SA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) over an extended range of concentrations and compositions in water. The ultrasonic velocity, viscosity, density, and refractive index of the blends have been measured at 30 and 50°C as a function of compositions of SA/PEG. The interaction parameters such as µ and α have been obtained using the viscosity data to probe the miscibility of the blends. The plots of reduced viscosity verses composition deviate from linearity according to the degree of miscibility of SA/PEG blends at all concentrations. The obtained miscibility results from viscosity have been confirmed by the ultrasonic velocity, density, and refractive index.

Keywords:

• polymer blends
• viscosity
• ultrasonic velocity
• refractive index
• miscibility