The role of chain scission in fracture of amorphous polymers

We have investigated the role of chain scission in glassy polymers by monitoring the molecular weight changes induced by microtoming thin slices of monodisperse polystyrenes. The changes in number-average molecular weight allow determination of N_f, the number of bond scissions per unit area. It is found that N_f is independent of initial molecular weight and has the value 6.50 × 10¹³ scissions/cm² at room temperature; N_f decreases with increasing temperature, suggesting that chain pullout increases with temperature. The work required to create unit surface area in polystyrene is several orders of magnitude greater than the energy required to break N_f bonds, indicating that plastic deformation plays a major role in deformation and fracture of glassy polymers.     

Polymorphic forms of nylon 3

The crystal structure of nylon 3 was studied, and four crystalline modifications were observed. Modification I, as determined from the x-ray diffraction pattern of drawn fibers, is similar to the α crystal structure of nylon 6. The unit cell is monoclinic; a = 9.33 Å, b = 4.78 Å, (fiber identity period), c = 8.73 Å, and β = 60°. The theoretical density for nylon 3 with four monomeric units in the unit cell is 1.39 g/cm³, and the observed density is 1.33 g/cm³. The space group is P2₁. The nylon 3 chains are in the extended planar zigzag conformation. Although other odd-numbered nylon form triclinic or pseudohexagonal crystals when oriented, drawn nylon 3 crystals are monoclinic. In addition to modification I, modifications II, III, and IV were studied. Lattice spacings of modifications II and III are equal to those of modification I. However x-ray diffraction intensities are different. Infrared spectra of those forms indicate an extended planar zigzag conformation of the chains. Modification IV is thought to correspond to the so-called smectic hexagonal form. No γ crystals were found, and it appears that polyamide chains with short sequences of methylene groups cannot form crystals of this type.     

Dynamical behavior of xanthan polysaccharide in solution

Dilute-solution hydrodynamic data for xanthan biopolymer in water suggest a rodlike molecule of dimensions 15,000 × 20 Å, and molecular weight 2.2 × 10⁶ g/mol. Upon addition of NaCl to this system, the xanthan molecules self-associate to form stable aggregates. The native xanthan conformation can be thermally denatured to a disordered coil which can be stabilized at room temperature in 4M urea. The transition to semidilute solutions is manifested by discrete changes in the concentration dependence of diffusion coefficient and zero-shear viscosity at c ≈ 2.0 × 10^?4 g/mL. At higher concentrations c ≥ 1.0 × 10^?3 g/mL, the light-scattering and shear-viscosity data are qualitatively but not quantitatively consistent with predictions of the dynamical theory of Doi and Edwards for an isotropic entangled solution of rigid-rod molecules. Measurements of latex sphere diffusion in xanthan-water solution show a sudden retardation at c ≈ 1.0 × 10^?3 g/mL, consistent with the cooperative formation of a motionally restricted network of long, thin, rigid fibers. At high shear rates, flow birefringence experiments indicate enhanced ordering of the xanthan chains in the semidilute regime.     

Structural analysis of polyethene prepared with rac‐dimethylsilylbis(indenyl)zirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane in a high‐temperature,continuously stirred tank reactor

A study of ethene solution polymerization with the rac‐dimethylsilylbis(indenyl)‐zirconium dichloride/methylaluminoxane catalyst system in a high‐temperature (140 °C), continuously stirred tank reactor system was carried out. ¹³C NMR, gel permeation chromatography, Fourier transform infrared, and rheological measurements were used for polymer analyses. Polyethylenes with low molecular weights (weight‐average molecular weight ≈ 35–55 kg/mol) and small amounts of methyl, ethyl, and long‐chain branching were produced. ¹³C NMR measurements showed that the long‐chain and methyl branches increased and that the ethyl branch contents decreased with decreasing monomer concentrations. At high monomer concentrations, the chain transfer to the coordinated monomer was concluded to be the predominant chain termination mechanism, whereas the chain transfer to aluminum was dominant at low monomer concentrations, which was evidenced by the fact that the selectivity of end groups was reduced to about 50%. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3292–3301, 2002     

EPR studies of mechanically induced bond rupture in elastomers

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was used to compute the surface bond rupture density in polyurethane and to determine the phase experiencing fracture in styrene-butadiene block copolymers when these elastomers are subjected to mechanical degradation by grinding. The polyurethane grinding was done at temperatures above and below the glass transition T_g; 0.155 × 10¹³ radicals/cm² of fracture surface area were formed above the T_g and 4.42 × 10¹³ radicals/cm² for grinding below the T_g. These values are essentially equal to those found earlier for spherulitic polymers. In all cases the fracture appears able to progress along preferential paths so as to rupture significantly fewer molecular chains than one would expect on the basis of calculations of the number of chains passing through each square centimeter of cross section. Comparison of EPR spectra formed by grinding styrene-butadiene copolymer with those of styrene and butadiene above indicated that at cryogenic temperature, the fracture in the copolymer takes place in the butadiene phase.     

Macroscopic,microscopic and molecular aspects of fracture in polymers

The distribution of stress at macroscopic and molecular levels can dramatically affect mechanical properties. This paper explores both these aspects. In the first part, quenching operations for polycarbonate and polystyrene were shown to develop favorable residual stresses as well as structural alterations (as manifested by changes in density, hardness, DSC results, etc.). The changes in these glassy polymers can be accompanied by as much as an order of magnitude increase in impact strength and fatigue life. In the other phase of our study, various analytical methods were used to investigate phenomena associated with fracture in oriented semi-crystalline polymers. In the studies reported here, the combined effects of stress and environmental agents on mechanical strength of nylon, polyethylene, and Kevlar fibers were measured. These results, in conjunction with investigations of bond rupture kinetics, suggest that fracture in these materials involve thermally activated chain scission in which the activation energy is aided by stress and the chemical environment. Different mechanisms appear to dominate fracture in spherulitic forms of chemically similar polymers.     

Structural data and thermal studies on nylon-12,10

The structure and morphology of Nylon-12, 10 lamellar crystals has been investigated using transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and x-ray diffraction. Additional data have been obtained from uniaxially oriented fibers. The unit cell parameters of two crystalline structures have been determined. They are similar to those usually found in other polyamides (α and β form). Calorimetric (DSC) studies on nylon 12, 10 were also carried out. Melting curves indicate that changes in the internal structure occur when scanning speeds less than 80°C min^?1 are used. ©1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Reexamination of the phosphorescence of Ba2Pt2(H2P2O5)4 via thermally modulated emission spectroscopy

Reexamination of the phosphorescence of Ba₂Pt₂(H₂P₂O₅)₄ reveals that the ≈10 K spectrum is a superposition of two electronic transitions [³A₂u(E_u,A_1u → A_1g] separated by ≈40 cm^?1. Each band displays a prominent 110 cm^?1 vibrational progression. Franck-Condon analysis yields a ≈0.25 Å distortion of the PtPt bond in the excited states, interpreted as a contraction.     

Molecular basis of healing and fracture at polymer interfaces

The interdiffusion of polymer chains across a polymer–polymer interface, and subsequent fracture to re-create the interface is reviewed. In particular, films formed via latex coalescence provide a very large surface area. Of course, latex film formation is a very important practical problem. Healing of the interface by interdiffusion is treated using the de Gennes reptation theory and the Wool minor chain reptation model. The self-diffusion coefficients of polystyrene and the polymethacrylates obtained by small-angle neutron scattering, SANS, direct non-radiative energy transfer, DET, and other techniques are compared. Reduced to 150,000 g/mol and 135°C, both polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) have diffusion coefficients of the order of 10^?16?10^?17 cm²/sec. Variations in the diffusion coefficient values are attributed to the experimental approaches, theoretical treatments and molecular weight distribution differences. An activation energy of 55 kcal/mol was calculated from an Arrhenius plot of all polystyrene data reduced to a number-average molecular weight of 150,000 g/mol, using an inverse square molecular weight conversion method. Interestingly, this is in between the activation energies for the α and β relaxation processes in polystyrene, 84 and 35 kcal/mol, respectively. Fracture of polystyrene was considered in terms of chain scission and chain pull-out. A dental burr apparatus was used to fracture the films. For low molecular weights, chain pull-out dominates, but for high molecular weights, chain scission dominates. At 150,000 g/mol, the energy to fracture is divided approximately equally between the two mechanisms. Above a certain number average molecular weight (about 400,000 g/mol), the number of chain scissions remains constant at about 10²⁴ scissions/m³. Energy balance calculations for film formation and film fracture processes indicate that the two processes are partly reversible, but have important components of irreversibility. From the interdiffusion SANS data, the diffusion rate is calculated to be about 1 Å/min, which is nine orders of magnitude slower than the dental burr pull-out velocity of about 0.8 cm/sec.     

Study of polymer complexes by size exclusion chromatography coupled with light scattering in combination with fluorescence spectroscopy

Poly(methyl methacrylate) stereocomplexes prepared at different concentration in dilute tetrahydrofuran solutions were studied by size exclusion chromatography coupled with refractive and light scattering detectors in combination with fluorescence spectroscopy. A considerable increase in segment density due to complexation compared with free poly(methyl methacrylate) chain was only slightly affected by the polymer concentration in solution where stereocomplexes were formed. At polymer concentrations up to 3×10⁻³ g cm⁻³, an increase in non‐uniformity of polymer complex molecular weight and size and a shift to higher values of both were observed. In semidilute solutions (at c > 3×10⁻³ g cm⁻³) stereocomplexes virtually did not become heavier and larger.     

Supramolecular complexes of poly(3‐Hexylthiophene)‐block (and random)‐poly[3‐(2‐(6‐carboxyhexyl)methyl)thiophene] copolymers with perylene bisimide

Block and random copolymers of poly(3‐hexylthiophene) and poly[3‐(2‐(6‐carboxyhexyl)methyl)thiophene] with side‐chain carboxylic functionality ((P3HT‐b‐P3COOH) and (P3HT‐r‐P3COOH) were developed by Grignard Metathesis (GRIM) polymerization. The carboxylic functionality was introduced in the side chain via the oxazoline route. Both the block and random polythiophene copolymers were complexed with pyridine functionalized perylene bisimide to obtain supramolecular block and random polymer complexes. The complex formation in both systems was confirmed by ¹H NMR, WXRD and SAXS studies. An expansion of d spacing upon complex formation was observed in both the block and random copolymer, which could be traced by WXRD. Hole and electron mobilities measured for the supramolecular complexes indicated values which were higher by an order of magnitude for the supramolecular block complex (μ_h ≈ 2.9 × 10⁻⁴ cm²/Vs; μ_e ≈ 3.1 × 10⁻⁶ cm²/Vs) as compared to the random (μ_h ≈ 1.4 × 10⁻⁵ cm²/Vs; μ_e ≈ 4.7 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/Vs) copolymer. These results are indicative of the higher degree of disorder prevailing in the films of random copolymer system compared to the block copolymer. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 1574–1583     

Orientation in nylon 6 films as determined by the three-dimensional polarized infrared technique

A three-dimensional polarized infrared technique was used to obtain information about molecular orientation in both uniaxially and biaxially drawn nylon 6 films. The 835 and 930 cm^?1 bands were used to describe the orientation of the A (extended chain) conformation while absorptions at 1175 cm^?1, and 1120 cm^?1 and 1075 cm^?1 were used to give some information about orientation of the B (twisted chain) conformation. On the basis of the 835 and 930 cm^?1 bands, it was shown that the hydrogen-bonded sheets made up of chains in the A conformation are parallel to the film surface in the biaxially drawn film. Uniaxially drawn films obtained by drawing both at 100 and 150°C showed a high degree of chain alignment in the draw direction for the A conformation at draw ratios greater than 2.5. Some planar orientation was also observed in these uniaxially drawn films for both the A and B conformations at high draw ratios.     

Effects of Pressure and Pulsed Mechanical Action on the IR and ESR Spectra of Ultrafine Polytetrafluoroethylene

The sensitivity of thermogasdynamically dispersed polytetrafluoroethylene to mechanical action was studied by IR and ESR spectroscopy. It is shown that exposure of sample to a pressure of 10 000 kg/cm² and mechanical impact does not lead to transition from a helical to a planar zigzag conformation but increases the amorphous properties and the number of defects of the sample structure. It is assumed that the defects are due to the appearance of terminal =CF₃ groups and =CF₃ groups in the side chain or deformation of chain regions with conjugated bonds.     

CRYSTALLIZATION AND MELTING OF NYLON 610

Differential scanning calorimetry was used to study the crystallization andmelting of nylon 610. For nylon 610 crystallized from the melt state (260℃), the overall rateof bulk crystallization can be described by a simple Avrami equation with Avrami exponentn ≈ 2, independent of crystallization temperature. With the experimentally obtainedT_m~0 (235℃ ～ 255℃) of nylon 610, the fold surface free energy σ_e was determined to be35 ～38 erg/cm~2. The effects of annealing temperature and time on the melting of quenchednylon 610 were also investigated. For nylon 610 quenched at room temperature there isonly one DSC endotherm peak DSC scans on annealed samples exhibited an endothermpeak at approximately 10℃ above the annealing temperature. The size and position of theendothermic peak is strongly related to annealing temperature and time. An additionalthird melting was observed when quenched nylon 610 was annealed at high temperaturefor a sufficiently long residence time. The existence of the third melting peak suggests thatmore than one kind of distribution of lamella thickness may occur when quenched nylon610 is annealed. The implications of these results in terms of crystal thickening mechanismwere discussed.     

Effect of the initial maleic anhydride content on the grafting of maleic anhydride onto isotactic polypropylene

A series of ¹³C‐enriched maleic anhydride grafted isotactic polypropylene samples were prepared in solution at 170 °C by changes in the initial maleic anhydride content. The NMR spectra of the samples showed that the signals of the maleic anhydride attached to the tertiary carbons of the isotactic polypropylene chains increased considerably with increasing maleic anhydride content, whereas the signals of the maleic anhydride on the radical chain ends (with a single bond) arising from β scission did not. On the other hand, the signals of the maleic anhydride on the radical chain ends with double bonds increased markedly with increasing maleic anhydride content, and this suggested that β scission could occur extensively after maleic anhydride was attached to the tertiary carbons. As a result, the molecular weight of the grafted polypropylene decreased significantly with increasing maleic anhydride content in this study. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5529–5534, 2005     

Conformation of poly(methacrylic acid) in alcohol–water mixtures. III. Dependence on molecular weight

Poly(methacrylic acid) has been studied in 0.002N HCl–ethanol mixtures as a function of molecular weight. A different dependence on molecular weight is noted at different alcohol concentrations. Since the intrinsic viscosity passes through a series of extrema with changes in alcohol concentration, the dependence on molecular weight has been considered in two regions of alcohol concentration in particular. The region of the first minimum and the region of the second minimum (or overall maximum). In the region of the first minimum, intrinsic viscosity is proportional to M^½, just as in 0.002N HCl. The Huggins coefficient k′ is large (ca. 60) but drops to about 10 when the molecular weight exceeds 320,000. In the region of the second minimum the dependence on molecular weight is complex. Intrinsic viscosity is proportional to molecular weight both at low and at high molecular weight and thus indicates freely draining structures. There is a conformational contraction, however, at molecular weight about 320,000 leading from one type of structure to the other. The structure at higher molecular weight may involve a specially strong bond between specifically grouped segments in the chain. The positions of the extrema along the alcohol concentration axis are not molecular weight dependent, particularly above 320,000. Results available for molecular weight dependence in methanol agree well with this picture. The present results confirm prediction inherent in the model of Silberberg and Priel and Silberberg.     

The mechanical degradation of polystyrene

The catastrophic failure of a polymeric material is preceded by a number of complex, partially understood events occurring on the molecular level. These events range from the flow of ordered regions to the cleavage of primary bonds in the chain. In recent years, stress-induced bond cleavage in polymers has received increased attention, many authors nothing the presence of free radicals and/or volatile products released upon fracture; a free-radical decomposition mechanism involving up to 10³ molecules per chain rupture also has been postulated. A special tensile stress–strain and shear apparatus was developed and located inside the ion-source housing of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer to characterize the volatile products released during mechanical degradation of polystyrene. Volatile compounds evolved during stress and fracture of polystyrene were monitored either continuously or by z-axis modulated oscilloscopic display. The polystyrene was purified by two methods: vacuum outgassing and fractional reprecipitation. Large amounts of styrene evolved from both the as-received and outgassed samples; however, essentially none was observed from the reprecipitated samples. Previous reports on monomer evolution during mechanical stress of polystyrene may be the result of residual monomer and not mechanical degradation products. The product of the surface density of primary radicals and the chain length for unzipping is less than 3 × 10¹⁰ radicals/mm² indicating a maximum radical concentration of approximately 10¹⁰ radicals/mm².     

Nanoporous Films with Sub‐10 nm in Pore Size from Acid‐Cleavable Block Copolymers

Nanoporous thin films with pore size of sub‐10 nm are fabricated using an acid‐cleavable block copolymer (BCP), a benzoic imine junction between poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(methacrylate) (PMAAz) bearing an azobenzene side chain (denoted as PEO‐bei‐PMAAz) as the precursor. After a thermal annealing, the block copolymers are self‐assembled to form highly ordered PEO cylinders within a PMAAz matrix normal to the film, even in the case of low BCP molecular weight due to the existing of the liquid crystalline (LC) azobenzene rigid segment. Thus, PMAAz thin films with pore size of ≈7 nm and density of ≈10¹² cm⁻² are obtained after removal of the PEO minor phase by breaking the benzoic imine junction under mild acidic conditions. This work enriches the nanoporous polymer films from BCP precursors and introduces the LC property as a functionality which can further enhance the mechanical properties of the films and broaden their applications.

     

Vibrational energy transfer in the two-channel 1,1-cyclopropane-d2 isomerization system. Krypton bath gas

The study of intermolecular energy transfer in the 1,1-cyclopropane-d₂ system has been repeated for the neat gas at 973 K and has been extended to krypton bath gas at 823 K and 973 K. The method of study is by the competitive collisional activation “spectroscopy” technique for this two-channel competitive isomerization system. Results at 823 K give the relative collisional efficiency of krypton as β ≈ 0.46, at k/k_∞ ≈ 0.02 and yield the average down-jump energy step as 〈ΔE〉 ≈ 1200 cm^?1 on the basis of a stepladder model for the distribution of down-step sizes. At 973 K and k/k_∞ = 0.02, β ≈ 0.07 and 〈ΔE〉 ≈ 500 cm^?8, for both an exponential and stepladder distribution of down-step sizes. Agreement with related earlier data for other bath gases and for neat cyclopropane is good and verifies again a decrease in energy transfer collisional efficiency, and a decrease in 〈ΔE〉, with rise of temperature, as previously reported for this system.     

Lower-frequency infrared spectra and structures of some typical aliphatic polyamides

The Polarized lower-frequency infrared spectra (800–33 cm^-1) of nylon 66 (α form), nylon 77 (γ form), and nylon 6 (both α and γ form) have been examined. The spectral changes which occur on complex formation of the polyamides with iodine-potassium iodide solution and on subsequent iodine desorption have been studied in relation to the changes in the polymer structures. On the basis of these results, most of the stronger bands have been reasonably assigned to the vibrations characteristic of the amide group and the methylene chain of the polyamides, and some new structure–frequency correlations have been established for the polymers.