Aqueous solutions of poly(vinyl methyl ether) are known to undergo phase separation in dependence of temperature. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and optical microscopy (OM) methods have been used to study dynamical and structural changes during the phase separation.
Results show strong dependence of DSC, NMR and OM parameters on polymer concentration and non-reversibility during heating and subsequent cooling process in the short time range. NMR data were used to construct van 't Hoff plots and changes of the enthalpy and entropy characterizing the phase transition were determined.