Term: polymer blend
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04736

Definition:
Macroscopically homogeneous mixture of two or more different species of polymer.

Notes:
0) In most cases, blends are homogeneous on scales larger than several times the wavelengths of @VT07496@ light.
1) In principle, the constituents of a blend are separable by physical means.
2) No account is taken of the @MT07230@ or @IT07239@ of the @C01281@ macromolecules, i.e., no assumption is made regarding the number of phase domains present.
3) The use of the term @PT07264@ for a polymer blend is discouraged, as the former term includes multiphase copolymers but excludes incompatible polymer blends.
4) The number of @M03667@ components which comprise a blend is often designated by an adjective, viz. binary, ternary, quaternary, etc.

Related Terms:
1) visible (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.VT07496).
2) miscibility (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.MT07230).
3) immiscibility (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.IT07239).
4) constituent (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.C01281).
5) polymer alloy (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.PT07264).
6) polymeric (http://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.M03667).

Source: PAC, 2007, 79, 1801. 'Definitions of terms relating to the structure and processing of sols, gels, networks, and inorganic-organic hybrid materials (IUPAC Recommendations 2007)' on page 1817 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac200779101801)

Citation: 'polymer blend' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04736

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