Synthesis,physical characterization,and acetone sorption kinetics in random copolymers of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate)

Random copolymers of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (PEN) were synthesized by melt condensation. In a series of thin, solvent cast films of varying PEN content, acetone diffusivity and solubility were determined at 35°C and an acetone pressure of 5.4 cm Hg. The kinetics of acetone sorption in the copolymer films are well described by a Fickian model. Both solubility and diffusivity decrease with increasing PEN content. The acetone diffusion coefficient decreases 93% from PET to PET/85PEN, a copolymer in which 85 weight percent of the dimethyl terephthalate in PET has been replace by dimethyl naphthalate 2,6-dicarboxylate. The acetone solubility coefficient in the amorphous regions of the polymer decreases by approximately a factor of two over the same composition range. The glass/rubber transition temperatures of these materials rise monotonically with increasing PEN content. Copolymers containing 20 to 80 wt % PEN are amorphous. Samples with <20% or >80% PEN contain measurable levels of crystallinity. Estimated fractional free volume in the amorphous regions of these samples is lower in the copolymers than in either of the homopolymers. Relative free volume as probed by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) decreases systematically with increasing PEN content. Acetone diffusion coefficients correlate well with PALS results. Infrared spectroscopy suggests an increase in the fraction of ethylene glycol units in the trans conformation in the amorphous phase as the concentration of PEN in the copolymer increases. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 2981–3000, 1998     

Relaxation behavior of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/poly(ethylene naphthalene 2,6‐dicarboxylate) blends prepared by cryogenic blending

A method including cryogenic grinding, melt pressing from the molten state, and quenching was used to prepare blends of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(ethylene naphthalene 2,6‐dicarboxylate) (PEN) in which the two phases were highly dispersed. The effect of melt‐pressing times on the thermal properties and relaxation behavior of PET/PEN films were characterized with differential scanning calorimetry and dielectric spectroscopy. For short melt‐pressing times, two glass‐transition, two crystallization, and two melting peaks were observed, indicating the presence of PET‐rich and PEN‐rich phases in these blends. Longer melt‐pressing times revealed a single glass transition and a single α‐relaxation process, showing that PET–PEN block copolymers were likely to be formed during the melt pressing. The experimental findings were examined in terms of the transesterification reactions between the blend components, as revealed by ¹H NMR measurements. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 2570–2578, 2002     

Segmented block copolymers of poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(ethylene terephthalate)

A new series of segmented copolymers were synthesized from poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) oligomers and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) by a two‐step solution polymerization reaction. PET oligomers were obtained by glycolysis depolymerization. Structural features were defined by infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The copolymer composition was calculated via ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The content of soft PEG segments was higher than that of hard PET segments. A single glass‐transition temperature was detected for all the synthesized segmented copolymers. This observation was found to be independent of the initial PET‐to‐PEG molar ratio. The molar masses of the copolymers were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 4448–4457, 2004     

Lamellar‐level morphology induced by combined crystallization and liquid–liquid demixing in a poly(ethylene terephthalate)/poly(ethylene‐2,6‐naphthalate) blend

The lamellar‐level morphology of an extruded poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/poly(ethylene‐2,6‐naphthalate) (PEN) blend was investigated with small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS). Measurements were made as a function of the annealing time in the melt and the crystallization temperature. The characteristic morphological parameters at the lamellar level were determined by correlation function analysis of the SAXS data. At a low crystallization temperature of 120 °C, the increased amorphous layer thickness was identified in the blend, indicating that some PEN was incorporated into the interlamellar regions of PET during crystallization. The blend also showed a larger lamellar thickness than pure PET. A reason for the increase in the lamellar thickness might be that the formation of thinner lamellar stacks by secondary crystallization was significantly restricted because of the increased glass‐transition temperature. At high crystallization temperatures above 200 °C, the diffusion rates of noncrystallizable components were faster than the growth rates of crystals, with most of the noncrystallizable components escaping from the lamellar stacks. As a result, the blend showed an interfibrillar or interspherulitic morphology. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 317–324, 2002     

Miscibility and transesterification in ternary blends of poly(ethylene naphthalate)/poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/poly(ether imide)

Miscibility and morphology of poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate)/poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/poly(ether imide) (PEN/PTT/PEI) blends were investigated by using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), optical microscopy (OM), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR). In the ternary blends, OM and DSC results indicated immiscible properties for polyester-rich compositions of PEN/PTT/PEI blends, but all compositions of the ternary blends were phase homogeneous after heat treatment at 300 °C for more than 30 min. An amorphous blend with a single T _g was obtained in the final state, when samples were annealed at 300 °C. Experimental results from ¹H-NMR identified the production of PEN/PTT copolymers by so-called “transesterification”. The influence of transesterification on the behaviors of glass transition and crystallization was discussed in detail. Study results identified that a random copolymer promoted the miscibility of the ternary blends. The critical block lengths for both PEN and PTT hindered the formation of crystals in the ternary blends. Finally, the transesterification product of PEN/PTT blends, ENTT, was blended with PEI. The results for DSC and OM demonstrated the miscibility of the ENTT/PEI blends.     

Water sorption/desorption kinetics in poly(ethylene naphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylate) and poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Water sorption/desorption experiments were carried out on films (～ 220 μm thick) of amorphous poly(ethylene naphthalene-2,6-dicarboxylate) (PEN) stored in ambient conditions for different periods of time (0.5-4 years) and of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) with different degrees of crystalinity levels (0-29%) by means of FTIR spectroscopy. Water sorption/desorption kinetics follows Fick's law for all samples investigated. Water sorption isotherms, obtained from gravimetric methods, indicate a larger sorption capacity in the case of PEN materials. The apparent diffusion coefficients (D) are larger in the case of PET samples. The observed D values decrease with storage time (physical aging) of PEN samples and with the crystallinity of PET samples. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Intimate blend of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(ethylene 2,6‐naphthalate) via formation with and coalescence from their common inclusion compound with γ‐cyclodextrin

The experimental procedures to place poly(ethylene 2,6‐naphthalate) (PEN) guest molecules within γ‐cyclodextrin (γ‐CD) host molecules are described along with the subsequent verification of inclusion‐compound (IC) formation. In addition, the simultaneous complexing of PEN and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) with γ‐CD to form their common IC is documented. Coalescence from their common γ‐CD IC generates an intimate blend of the PET and PEN polymers contained therein. Thermal analysis via differential scanning calorimetry reveals thermal behavior indicative of an intimate blend of PET and PEN. ¹H NMR analysis confirms that the intimate blending of PET and PEN achieved by coalescence from their common γ‐CD IC is not due to transesterification into a PET/PEN copolymer during thermal analysis. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 139–148, 2003     

Interval kinetic gravimetric sorption of acetone in random copolymers of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate)

Interval sorption kinetics of acetone in solvent cast films of random poly(ethylene terephthalate)-co-(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (PET-co-PEN) are reported at 35°C and at acetone pressures ranging from 0 to 7.3 cm Hg. Polymer composition is varied systematically from 0% to 50% poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate). Equilibrium sorption is well described by the dual-mode sorption model. Interval sorption kinetics are described using a two-stage model that incorporates both Fickian diffusion and protracted polymer structural relaxation. The incorporation of low levels of PEN into PET significantly reduces the excess free volume associated with the glassy state and, for these interval acetone sorption experiments in ∼ 5 μm-thick films, decreases the fraction of acetone uptake controlled by penetrant-induced polymer structural relaxation. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 2973–2984, 1999     

Transesterification kinetics of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(ethylene 2,6‐naphthalate) blends with the addition of 2,2′‐bis(1,3‐oxazoline)

The kinetics of the transesterification reaction between poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(ethylene 2,6‐naphthalate) (PEN) with and without the addition of a chain extender were studied with ¹H NMR. Different kinetic approaches were considered, and a second‐order, reversible reaction was accepted for the PET/PEN reactive blend system. The addition of 2,2′‐bis(1,3‐oxazoline) (BOZ) promoted the transesterification reaction between PET and PEN in the molten state. The activation energy of the transesterification reaction for the PET/PEN reactive blend with BOZ (94.0 kJ/mol) was lower than that without BOZ (168.9KJ/mol). The rate constant k took an almost constant value for blend samples with different compositions mixed at 275 °C. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 2607–2614, 2001     

Acetone solubility and diffusivity in poly(ethylene terephthalate) modified with low levels of 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylic acid,isophthalic acid,and 2,5-bis-(4-carboxyphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole

A series of random copolyesters was prepared by replacing up to 10 wt.% of the dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) with dimethyl 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylate (NDC), isophthalic acid (IPA), or 2,5-bis-(4-carboxyphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (ODCA). Solution cast films of the resulting copolymers were prepared and characterized. Modification of PET with NDC and ODCA led to copolymers with glass transition temperatures higher than that of PET, while modification with IPA decreased the glass transition temperature. Copolymerization decreased crystallinity levels in all cases. The acetone solubility and acetone diffusion coefficient were determined by integral kinetic gravimetric sorption experiments at 35°C and 5.4 cm Hg acetone pressure. PET containing low levels of NDC had lower amorphous phase acetone diffusivity and solubility than PET, while PET modified with IPA had amorphous phase acetone diffusivity and acetone solubility similar to that of PET. PET modified with 5% ODCA had amorphous phase acetone diffusivity similar to that of PET, while PET modified with 10% ODCA had an amorphous phase acetone diffusivity value slightly lower than that of PET. Copolymers containing ODCA had somewhat higher acetone solubilities that PET, due mainly to the lower levels of crystallinity in the ODCA-containing polymers than in PET.     

Electrical conductivity of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/expanded graphite nanocomposites prepared by in situ polymerization

Nanocomposites based on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and expanded graphite (EG) have been prepared by in situ polymerization. Morphology of the nanocomposites has been examined by electronic microscopy. The relationship between the preparation method, morphology, and electrical conductivity was studied. Electronic microscopy images reveal that the nanocomposites exhibit well dispersed graphene platelets. The incorporation of EG to the PET results in a sharp insulator‐to‐conductor transition with a percolation threshold (?_c) as low as 0.05 wt %. An electrical conductivity of 10^?3 S/cm was achieved for 0.4 wt % of EG. The low percolation threshold and relatively high electrical conductivity are attributed to the high aspect ratio, large surface area, and uniform dispersion of the EG sheets in PET matrix. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

Surface and bulk morphology of cold-crystallized poly(ethylene terephthalate)

The morphology/habit of crystals of cold-crystallized poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has been evaluated using scanning and transmission electron microscopy and using atomic force microscopy. The combination of different preparation and analysis techniques allowed assessing the structure at the nanometer scale of films of PET at both the surface and the bulk. It is found that crystals formed on heating the amorphous glass to a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature are of lamellar shape in the bulk and almost isometric habit at the surface. This finding is explained by different rates of nucleation/crystallization in the bulk and at the surface, being supported by the observation of nanometer-scale surface heterogeneities after quenching PET to ambient temperature before crystallization was initiated by heating.     

Phase behavior and structure development in extruded poly(ethylene terephthalate)/poly(ethylene‐2,6‐naphthalate) blend

Liquid–liquid phase separation and subsequent homogenization during annealing in an extruded poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/poly(ethylene‐2,6‐naphthalate) (PEN) blend were investigated with time‐resolved light scattering and optical microscopy. In the initial stage, the domain structure was developed by demixing via spinodal decomposition. In the later stage, the blend was homogenized by transesterification between the two polyesters. The crystallization rate depended on the sequence distribution of polymer chains, which was determined by the level of transesterification rather than the composition change of separated phases. When the crystallization of PEN preceded that of PET, PEN showed a higher melting point. However, when the crystallization rate of PEN was slower than that of PET, the previously formed PET crystals suppressed the crystallization of PEN, causing the coarse crystalline structure of PEN to have a lower melting point. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 2625–2633, 2000     

Morphological study on water‐borne conducting polyaniline‐poly(ethylene oxide) blends

Conducting polyaniline‐poly(ethylene oxide) blends were prepared from their aqueous solutions. The blends displayed an electrical conductivity percolation threshold as low as 1.83 wt % of polyaniline loading. As demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy, polarized optical microscopy, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction studies, the conducting polyaniline took a fibrillar morphology in the blend, and it existed only in the amorphous phase of poly(ethylene oxide). A three‐phase model combining morphological factors instead of a two‐phase model was proposed to explain the low‐conductivity percolation threshold. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 605–612, 2002; DOI 10.1002/polb.10114     

Dielectric relaxation studies in poly(hexamethylenesebacate) (HMS), poly(2-methyl-2-ethyl propylenesebacate) (MEPS), poly(2,5-dimethylbutylene sebacate) (DBS), and block copolymers of HMS and MEPS

The α and β dielectric relaxations of poly(hexamethylenesebacate) (HMS), poly(2-methyl-2-ethyl propylenesebacate) (MEPS), poly(1,4- dimethylbutylene sebacate) (DBS) and block copolymers of HMS and MEPS have been studied. The α relaxation is amenable to a W.L.F. analysis and is associated with the glass transition of the polymers. This relaxation moves to higher temperatures with increasing HMS content in HMS/MEPS block copolymers. All the polymers studied exhibit psuedo-activation energies of ～32 kcal/mole at the glass transition. It is concluded that because the superposition principle is operative in the block copolymers, the glass transition must be very similar in both polymers and morphology and degree of crystallinity do not greatly affect this transition. The β relaxation which has been associated with segmental relaxation of polymethylene segments in polymers is also shown to be a function of HMS/MEPS block copolymer composition and chemical structure. This relaxation takes place at lower temperatures with increased HMS content in the blocks and also shifts to lower temperatures with side chain substitution adjacent to the carbonyl group in the polymer. It is concluded that the β relaxation takes place in the amorphous and crystalline regions of the polymer.     

Mesophase structures in poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate) and poly(ethylene naphthalate bibenzoate)

Films of poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) and poly(ethylene naphthalate bibenzoate) (PENBB) have been drawn under a variety of conditions of temperature and strain rate to determine the conditions under which a nematic-like mesophase structure can be produced. In PEN the combination of low temperature and high-strain rate encourages mesophase formation, while in PENBB the mesophase was formed under all conditions where it proved possible to draw the material at all. A molecular modelling study of the mesophase in PEN and in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) offers possible structures for the mesophase and showed that the mesophase structure could be stable once formed © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparative study on transreactions induced phase changes in blends of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) and poly(ethylene naphthalate) upon annealing

By using wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), thermal analysis, scanning and optical microscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses, this study has demonstrated that blends of two semicrystalline polyesters, poly(trimethylene terephthalate) and poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PTT/PEN), were initially immiscible in as-blended state. The process of blend phase/morphology changes upon extended heating/annealing at elevated temperatures was monitored and probed. With reactions induced at heating/annealing at high temperatures (300°C) for long enough times, the original two phases quickly merged into a single phase. NMR analyses have shown that the products of the transreactions are identified as the random copolyesters (termed as EN-TT). From the NMR results, statistical analyses revealed that the average sequence lengths decreased upon heating, and the degree of chain randomness increased with time of heating at the fixed temperature. Upon extended heating, all PTT and PEN chains could be fully transformed into random copolymers of higher randomness with only a single but amorphous phase. Results are compared to another blend system comprised of PEN and a homologous polyester, PPT, of different structure. Influence of polyester structure on transreactions and phase homogenization process is analyzed.     

Isothermal crystallization kinetics of PEO in poly(ethylene terephthalate)–poly(ethylene oxide) segmented copolymers. I. Effect of the soft‐block length

The isothermal crystallization kinetics of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block in two poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)–PEO segmented copolymers was studied with differential scanning calorimetry. The Avrami equation failed to describe the overall crystallization process, but a modified Avrami equation, the Q equation, did. The crystallizability of the PET block and the different lengths of the PEO block exerted strong influences on the crystallization process, the crystallinity, and the final morphology of the PEO block. The mechanism of nucleation and the growth dimension of the PEO block were different because of the crystallizability of the PET block and the compositional heterogeneity. The crystallization of the PEO block was physically constrained by the microstructure of the PET crystalline phase, which resulted in a lower crystallization rate. However, this influence became weak with the increase in the soft‐block length. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 3230–3238, 2000     

Viscoelastic characteristics of UV polymerized poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate networks with varying extents of crosslinking

The viscoelastic relaxation characteristics of ultraviolet crosslinked networks based on poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate [PEGDA] have been investigated by dynamic mechanical methods. Effective crosslink density in the networks was varied via the use of PEGDA prepolymers of different molecular weight, or by the introduction of controlled amounts of water in the reaction mixture. In all cases examined, fully amorphous networks were obtained. Time–temperature superposition was applied to obtain master curves of storage modulus versus frequency across the glass transition, and these could be satisfactorily described using the Kohlrausch–Williams–Watts relaxation function. The glass transition temperature (T_g), relaxation breadth, and fragility of the segmental relaxation were correlated with the effective crosslink density obtained in the networks. Gas permeation measurements on the PEGDA/water networks indicated only a very modest variation in gas transport properties, despite the sizeable variation in apparent crosslink density achieved in these materials. This result suggests that the controlling structural factor for gas transport in the networks is not simply crosslink density, and that attempts to correlate gas transport to network structure must necessarily consider the broader relationships between crosslink density, segmental mobility, and fractional free volume. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2058–2070, 2006     

Structural changes in poly(ethylene terephthalate) induced by cryomilling and ambimilling

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has been subjected to high energy ball milling at two different temperatures (cryogenic temperature and ambient temperature). The morphological and crystal structural evolutions of milled powders are characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X‐ray diffraction measurement. The particle size and distribution of milled powders are measured by laser diffraction particle size analyzer (LDPSA). The results indicate that the mechanisms of refining and amorphization are remarkably different between cryomilling (mechanical milling under cryogenic temperature) and ambimilling (mechanical milling under ambient temperature). The cryomilled particles are agglomerated morphology, while the ambimilled particles are cold‐welded morphology. Cryomilling induced crystalline PET translates to general amorphous, however, ambimilling induced crystalline PET transforms to oriented amorphous. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 986–993, 2006