Communication: Cosolvency and cononsolvency explained in terms of a Flory-Huggins type theory

Standard Flory-Huggins (FH) theory is utilized to describe the enigmatic cosolvency and cononsolvency phenomena for systems of polymers dissolved in mixed solvents. In particular, phase boundaries (specifically upper critical solution temperature spinodals) are calculated for solutions of homopolymers B in pure solvents and in binary mixtures of small molecule liquids A and C. The miscibility (or immiscibility) patterns for the ternary systems are classified in terms of the FH binary interaction parameters (χ_αβ) and the ratio r = ϕ_A/ϕ_C of the concentrations ϕ_A and ϕ_C of the two solvents. The trends in miscibility are compared to those observed for blends of random copolymers (A_xC_1−x) with homopolymers (B) and to those deduced for A/B/C solutions of polymers B in liquid mixtures of small molecules A and C that associate into polymeric clusters (A_pC_q)_i, (i = 1, 2, …, ∞). Although the classic FH theory is able to explain cosolvency and cononsolvency phenomena, the theory does not include a consideration of the mutual association of the solvent molecules and the competitive association between the solvent molecules and the polymer. These interactions can be incorporated in refinements of the FH theory, and the present paper provides a foundation for such extensions for modeling the rich thermodynamics of polymers in mixed solvents