Table 1. Solubilities of PE, EVOH, and PET in select solvent systems determined by HSPs (Ra/R0), COSMO-RS calculations, and experiments.
Ra/R0 is the ratio of the polymer-solvent distance to the interaction radius of the polymer (R0) in δD − δP − δH space. Ra/R0 less than unity means that the polymer is likely to dissolve in the solvent, whereas Ra/R0 greater than unity means that the polymer is insoluble in the solvent. ND indicates nondetected solubilities.
| Component resin | Solvent system | Temperature (°C) | Ra/R0 |
COSMO-RS solubility (wt %) |
Experimental solubility (wt %) |
| PE | Toluene | 110 | 0.37 | 33.62 | 14.56* |
| PE | DMSO | 95 | 2.66 | 2.69 | 0.04 |
| PE | 1:4 toluene:acetone | 25 | 1.31 | 1.57 | ND |
| PE | 1:4 DMSO:water | 25 | 5.53 | 0.00 | ND |
| EVOH | Toluene | 110 | 2.00 | 0.27 | 0.00 |
| EVOH | DMSO | 95 | 1.03 | 32.54 | 14.05 |
| EVOH | 1:4 toluene:acetone | 25 | 1.53 | 0.13 | ND |
| EVOH | 1:4 DMSO:water | 25 | 3.53 | 0.82 | ND |
| PET | Toluene | 110 | 1.06 | 1.33 | 0.00 |
| PET | DMSO | 95 | 1.65 | 0.25 | 0.02 |
| PET | 1:4 toluene:acetone | 25 | 0.91 | 0.00 | ND |
| PET | 1:4 DMSO:water | 25 | 4.80 | 0.00 | ND |
*upper limit of PE wt% in toluene tested, as higher concentrations resulted in a viscous solution that was difficult to stir. This value therefore represents a lower limit for PE solubility in toluene at the temperature indicated.