Thermal and spectroscopic properties of zinc perchlorate/poly(vinylpyrrolidone) blends and a comparison with related hydrogen bonding systems

We have investigated the thermal and spectroscopic properties of blends of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) with zinc perchlorate. Analyses by differential scanning calorimetry indicates that blending with zinc perchlorate increases the values of Tg of PVP. We calculated the interaction strength of the zinc salt/PVP blends based on an extended configuration entropy model. The presence of ion–dipole interactions between PVP and the zinc salt was confirmed based on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and solid-state NMR spectroscopies, which suggest that the zinc cations coordinate with the carbonyl groups of PVP. The single value of T 1 ρ H measured by solid-state NMR spectroscopy observed for all the zinc salt/PVP blends is smaller than that of pure PVP, which is a finding that indicates that the domain size of this blend system decreases upon increasing the zinc salt content. Based on FTIR and solid-state NMR spectroscopic analyses, we conclude that the ion–dipole interactions in the zinc salt/PVP blend are stronger than the hydrogen bonds in systems such as the poly(vinylphenol) (PVPh)/PVP blend and the PVPh-co-PVP copolymer.