Simple Approach for Quantifying the Thermodynamic Potential of Polymer–Polymer Adhesion

The free energies of mixing a series of water-soluble polymers with cellulose were calculated using the UNIFAC (universal functional group activity coefficients) algorithm, and the results were correlated with measurements of polymer/cellulose adhesion. The more negative the minimum free energy of mixing, the greater the measured adhesion. Adhesion was quantified by single-lap shear test in which regenerated cellulose films were laminated with …