Conformational and Thermodynamic Properties of Macromolecules in Ternary Polymeric Systems

An account is given of the present state of knowledge on the properties of solutions of homopolymers and copolymers (having different distributions of monomer units in the chain) in binary mixtures of solvents. Several specific features of the hydrodynamic behaviour of macromolecules in such systems are discussed. Selective adsorption, which develops in mixed solvents, cannot be responsible for the lack of agreement between theory and experiment. Results reported here indicate that macromolecules retain a Gaussian structure $([\eta]_\theta\sim M^{1/2})$ in several polymer–binary mixture systems. Conformational properties and transitions of macromolecules from a "segregated" to a random form are examined as functions of the composition of the mixed solvents.
A list of 61 references is included.