A Perturbation Theory Modification of the Flory-Huggins Polymer Solution Theory

TL;DR

This paper introduces a perturbation theory modification to the Flory-Huggins model, improving predictions of polymer solution properties, especially at large polymer/solvent size ratios, by incorporating hard-sphere mixture results.

Contribution

It presents a novel perturbation approach based on hard-sphere mixture results to enhance the Flory-Huggins theory for polymer solutions.

Findings

Improved prediction accuracy for polymer solutions at large size ratios.

Better agreement with experimental data compared to traditional Flory-Huggins.

Applicable to various polymers and solvents with different molecular weights.

Abstract

A perturbation theory modification of the Flory-Huggins polymer solution theory is presented. The proposed perturbation equation utilizes the results by Tukur et al [J. Chem. Phys. 110 (7), 3463, 1999] for hard-sphere binary mixture at infinite size ratio. The resulting perturbation theory equations are used to predict properties of three different polymers with different molecular weights in different solvents. Comparison of the proposed perturbation calculations with those of the Flory-Huggins theory and the experimental data indicate that the proposed perturbation method appreciably improves prediction of polymer solution properties especially at large polymer / solvent size ratios.