IR Spectroscopic Analysis of the Distribution of Free Volume in Plasticized Polyvinyl Butyral

The distribution of the free volume in the polymer matrix of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) plasticized by polyethyleneglycol (PEG400) is studied via FTIR spectroscopy. The effective sizes of mobile elements of the free volume in PVB/PEG400 systems with 80 : 20, 70 : 30, 60 : 40 and 50 : 50 compositions are determined using a set of conformationally-inhomogeneous probes. It is shown that the percentage of PVB/PEG400 systems influences the distribution of free volume.