Fiber spinning from the nematic melt. V. Flow instabilities in the 75:25 copolyester of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and 2-hydroxy-6-naphthoic acid

We have investigated the rheological properties of the Celanese copolyester with the composition 75 mol% p-hydroxybenzoic acid and 25 mol% 2-hydroxy-6-naphthoic acid (designated as 75HBA/25HNA). Three different samples having inherent viscosities 3.0, 6.0, and 9.2 dL/g were studied. A flow instability is observed at low shear stress which produces an irregularity in the fiber diameter. The surface irregularity becomes less pronounced above a minimum shear stress, indicating that the flow instability originates in the capillary. For these nematic melts, the minimum shear stress marking the onset of more regular flow is found to decrease with increasing temperature and with decreasing inherent viscosity of the copolyester. The die swell ratio of extrudates decreases with increasing shear stress. Fibers were spun from the samples having η_inh = 9.2 and 3.0 dL/g. The initial modulus and tenacity to break for 75HBA/25HNA fibers spun at sufficiently high shear stress to produce smooth filaments are significantly lower than the values we previously reported for fibers of the 58HBA/42HNA copolyester. Moreover, the optimum properties are obtained at relatively low spin-draw ratios. The 75HBA/25HNA polyester also exhibits a yield stress which decreases with increasing temperature. This observation indicates the presence of crystallities at the test temperatures. We believe that the higher content of HBA in the present copolymer gives rise to crystallization of HBA blocks in the thread line and that defects are introduced at higher spin-draw ratios which cause the mechanical properties to become worse.     

The effect of branching on the physical properties of 73/27 4‐hydroxybenzoic acid/2‐hydroxy‐6‐naphthoic acid

The 73/27 4‐hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA)/2‐hydroxy‐6‐naphthoic acid (HNA) copolyester was prepared by the inclusion of two crosslinkable oligomers. These systems were synthesized by melt polymerization and characterized using differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, polarized optical microscope and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. The transition from thermoplastic to thermosetting character occurred when 10 wt% or above of oligomer was added to the 73/27 HBA/HNA random mixture. The melt rheology of the HBA/HNA copolyesters containing two oligomers was investigated. The copolyesters displayed an increase in complex viscosity and transition from liquid‐like to solid‐like behavior as the oligomer content increased, and finally there was no melting transition when the oligomer content reached 10 wt%. Shear storage modulus measured by a dielectric mechanical analysis decreased slightly with increasing oligomer content. An adhesive test using an aluminum sheet revealed an increase in the lap shear strength up to 5 wt% of oligomer content without a significant reduction in shear storage modulus. On the other hand, the 73/27 HBA/HNA containing 10 wt% oligomer displayed a dramatic decrease in lap shear strength. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ordering processes in the 2,6-hydroxynaphthoic acid (HNA) rich copolyesters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and HNA

The nature of the microstructure of several copolyesters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) and 2,6-hydroxynaphthoic acid (HNA) with compositions of 20/80, 24/76, and 30/70 was studied. Annealing the compositions at 50–80 °C below the crystal nematic transition resulted in a physical ordering process, whereas heating the polymers at the crystal nematic transition resulted in a more highly ordered phase. The ordered phases could be randomized by heating to a temperature at or above the transition of the more highly ordered phase.     

Dielectric relaxation studies on a three component fully aromatic copolyester

The family of aromatic copolyesters based on the hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) unit has been studied extensively by a number of groups. In particular the copolyesters of HBA and 2,6‐hydroxynaphthoic acid (HNA) have received much of attention due to their superior physical properties. This paper, however, describes some detailed dielectric studies on a related fully aromatic copolyester, poly(p‐oxybenzoate‐co‐p‐phenylene isophthalate), known simply as HIQ. This polymer is of particular interest because it can be solvent cast in an amorphous form, with no apparent crystallinity or frozen liquid crystalline texture and subsequently annealed, to increase the amount of crystalline and frozen liquid crystalline material. Dielectric measurements were therefore made on tape and film samples with differing morphologies produced by different processing histories. Measurements were made from 1 Hz to 10 kHz over the temperature range ?100 °C to 150 °C. A low temperature γ relaxation is observed which appears to be similar in nature to that which is observed in copolymers of HBA and HNA. An intermediate temperature β process is seen in isotropic samples which has a much higher activation energy than that found in HBA/HNA polyesters for example. The intensity of this process, which is not seen in mechanical measurements on highly oriented samples, increases on annealing and it is therefore suggested that the process is the glass transition of the liquid crystalline phase, though why the process is not seen in mechanical measurements on oriented samples is unclear. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of phase transformation on the low temperature dielectric measurements in 1-cyanoadamantane

Dielectric measurements have been performed on the supercooled plastic crystal phase of cyanoadamantane under isothermal and isochronal conditions in the temperature range [170-250 K], each experiment with a new sample. The measurements performed in the course of isotherms allowed us to emphasize the effects of the transformations close to the glass transition temperature leading to a change in the dynamic behavior of the compound. The temperature dependence of the dielectric relaxation times exhibits an Arrhenius evolution on the whole metastable domain and gives at the calorimetric glass transition temperature a value of 1 s, i.e., two orders of magnitude lower than the usual value [tau(T(g)) congruent with 100 s]. These results indicate that the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann behavior observed with other techniques does not appear in the Brillouin zone center (q=0) and that the glass transition for this glass former is not associated with the freezing out of the tumbling motion of individual molecular dipoles but to the freezing out of fluctuations of an antiferroelectric local ordering.     

Gas transport properties of thermotropic liquid-crystalline copolyesters. II. The effects of copolymer composition

Gas transport properties are reported for a series of compression-molded films prepared from copolyesters of hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) and 2,6 hydroxynaphthoic acid (HNA) having 30/70, 58/42, 73/27, 75/25, and 80/20 mol % HBA/HNA. The mesomorphic and crystalline morphology of the materials was characterized using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction As evidenced by DMTA, the phenyl and naphthyl moieties of the HBA/HNA materials exhibit a significant degree of segmental mobility below the glass transition temperature. The nonlinear nature of the naphthyl unit leads to a more hindered rotation about the chain axis. Permeability measurements were made for He, H₂, O₂, N₂, Ar, and CO₂ at 35°C and the diffusivities were computed from time-lag data. As previously observed in these materials, the films exhibited excellent barrier properties resulting largely from very low gas solubility coefficients. The liquid-crystalline copolyester: (LCP) materials with the highest HNA content exhibit the best barrier properties. It appears that the more hindered motions of the naphthyl unit restrict penetrant mobility. The reduction in permeability with increased naphthyl unit content is accompanied by a very dramatic increase in selectivity between gas pairs. Fractional free volume analysis was used to correlate the transport properties of the LCP materials and other conventional polymers. A “two-phase” modification of the free volume correlation suggests that transport may likely occur in a small volume fraction of a less dense boundary phase.     

Fluorescence study on a liquid‐crystalline polyester containing naphthoate mesogen units

Using fluorescence spectroscopy, we investigated intermolecular interaction between mesogenic units in a thermotropic main‐chain LC polyester, P(HBA73/HNA27), containing oxybenzoate (HBA) and oxynaphthoate (HNA) mesogenic units. It is known that P(HBA73/HNA27), which has a high molecular weight, shows second harmonic generation (SHG) activity. P(HBA73/HNA27) showed fluorescence at 410 nm and 430 nm, originating from two kinds of intermolecular interaction. Fluorescence with a peak at 410 nm comes from the ground‐state complex between partially overlapping naphthoate units or between naphthoate and oxybenzoate units whose interaction is weak. Fluorescence at 430 nm comes from the ground‐state complex between fully overlapping naphthoate units whose interaction is strong. The relative fluorescence intensity for 430 nm compared to 410 nm increases with increases in inherent viscosity, η_inh, of P(HBA73/HNA27), the composition ratio of HNA/HBA, and temperature. The fluorescence intensity ratio, I₄₃₀/I₄₁₀, of P(HBA73/HNA27) shows the same inherent‐viscosity dependence with its sudden increase at η_inh = 1.4 ∽ 2.2 dL/g as its SHG activity does, supporting the polar structure and uniformity of LC orientation of the present LC polyester. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 2922–2928, 2000     

Rheological studies of thermotropic liquid crystal copolyesters: P-hydroxybenzoic acid / 2-hydroxy-6-naphthoic acid

The rheological behavior of the thermotropic liquid crystal copolyesters composed of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and 2-hydroxy-6-naphthoic acid (indicated as HBA/HNA) is investigated for three different compositions: 75:25, 58:42, 30:70 (in mol%). The inherent viscosities are 9.2, 5.1, and 7.8 dl/g, respectively. Yield stress is observed for all three samples. This indicates the existence of crystallites in the melt which may be related to the shear thinning viscosity at low shear stress. Melt fracture, and a die swell ratio which increases with shear rate, are also observed at higher temperatures and at low shear stress for the two copolyesters having compositions 75:25 and 30:70. We have also estimated for 30HBA/70HNA at 335°C the entrance pressure loss, Δp_ent, and ΔP_ent/δ_w, where δ_w is the shear stress at the capillary wall. The large value of ΔP_ent/δ_w suggest that HBA/HNA is a highly elastic polymeric material. It is found that both ΔP_ent and ΔP_ent/δ_w increase with shear rate. However, the high elasticity does not account for the disappearance of melt fracture and contraction of die swell at high shear stress. This abnormal phenomenon is ascribed to the formation of a network of crystallites caused by blocky regions in the copolymer.     

Synthesis and eutectic behavior of liquid crystalline copolyesters

A series of liquid crystalline copolyesters, derived from 1,4‐hydroxy‐benzoic acid (HBA), 6‐hydroxy‐2‐naphthoic acid (HNA), terephthalic acid (TA), and hydroquinone (HQ), were prepared; crystallization, melting and solid‐state structure of the copolyesters were studied by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide‐angle x‐ray diffraction (WAXD). It was found that the variation of melting point of the copolyesters with increasing HBA mol % exhibits eutectic melting behavior at a constant mole ratio of HNA, and the extrapolated eutectic temperature decreases linearly with increasing HNA mol %. WAXD analysis of the copolyesters indicates that the d‐spacing related to three‐dimensional order increases first and then decreases with increasing HBA mol %. The increase of the d‐spacing, consistent with looser packing of chains, leads to the reduction of melting point and most likely accounts for the eutectic behavior observed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 2171–2177, 2009     

The mechanical properties of thermally treated 73/27 HBA/HNA copolyester

The mechanical properties of fiber molded samples and monofilaments of thermally treated 73/27 4‐hydroxy benzoic acid/2‐hydroxy‐6‐napthoic acid (HBA/HNA) copolyester have been investigated using both tensile tests and flexural three‐point bending tests. The thermal treatment which involves step annealing at temperatures well below the degradation temperature of the 73/27 system has been shown to produce branching and crosslinking in the crystalline regions of these polymers. The flexural strength of the degraded sample decreased up to 10% of the untreated fiber molded sample. In case of tensile strength of a single fiber, the values for the degraded samples are in line with the untreated fiber in the low draw ratio region while a slight decrease in tensile strength was observed in the high draw ratio region. The decrease in flexural and tensile strength appears to result from a small amount of branching and crosslinking reactions which arise uniquely in the orthorhombic phase of the 73/27 HBA/HNA copolyester. The branching and crosslinking would prevent the molecular orientation along flow direction in the molten state. For the fiber molded samples of degraded 73/27 HBA/HNA the destruction of the chain regularity along fiber axis direction was observed by wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction. The 73/27 HBA/HNA copolyester including 1 wt% of a crosslinked oligomer was used to simulate the branching and crosslinking of the degraded 73/27 HBA/HNA copolyester. Plots of tensile strength versus draw ratio were similar for the degraded 73/27 HBA/HNA and a copolyester which included 1 wt% of a crosslinkable oligomer. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanical and dielectric relaxations in liquid crystalline copolyesters

Dynamic mechanical measurements in tension and torsion on oriented tapes and monofilaments of a range of liquid crystalline polyesters have been combined with dielectric measurements to obtain a molecular understanding of the relaxation processes. This paper extends our previous work [1,2,3] on polyesters of hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) and hydroxynaphthoic acid (HNA) to related polymers containing dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN) and terephthalic acid (TPA) or biphenyl (BP) and TPA in place of the HNA. It confirms the association of the β and γ processes with naphthyl and phenyl moieties but shows that the processes cannot be due simply to the independent motions of single units.     

Energy transfer photophysics from serum albumins to sequestered 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, an excited state intramolecular proton-transfer probe

The steady-state and time-resolved studies of the sensitized emission of the excited-state proton transfer (ESIPT) probe 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (3HNA) when bound to bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum albumin (HSA) indicate that the nonradiative dipole-dipole F?rster type energy transfer from Trp singlet state of proteins to the ESIPT singlet state of 3HNA is greater in the case of HSA. This is supported by the distance and the orientation of the donor-acceptor pair obtained from the protein-ligand docking studies. The docking studies of the complex of BSA-3HNA also indicate that Trp 134 rather than Trp 213 is involved in the energy transfer process. The local environment of Trp 134 in BSA rather than that of Trp 213 is perturbed because of interaction with 3HNA as revealed by the optical resolution of Trp 134 phosphorescence in the complex at 77 K. Docking studies support the larger rotational correlation time, thetac (approximately 50 ns), observed for Trp residue/residues in the complexes of HSA and BSA compared with that in the free proteins.     

Synthesis and characterization of liquid crystalline copolyester of 4-hydroxy-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzoic acid with 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid

4-Hydroxy-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzoic acid/6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid copolymers (FHBA/HNA copolymer) with different copolymer compositions were prepared and the influence of FHBA residue on the thermal properties and structures of the copolymers were investigated. Introduction of FHBA decreased the crystal/nematic phase transition temperatures(T_CNs) of the FHBA/HNA copolymers. T_CNs of the copolymers were in the temperature range between 200 and 250°C, depending on the copolymer composition. They are approximately 40°C lower than those of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid/HNA copolymers. FHBA/HNA copolymers exhibited low crystallinity, and annealing treatment hardly influenced the crystalline natures. FHBA residue possibly interferes with the recrystallization during annealing. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36 : 413–419, 1998     

Molecular mobility of substituted poly(p-phenylenes) characterized by a range of polymer relaxation techniques

The free volume and related mobility properties of substituted poly(p-phenylene) polymers are examined. The techniques used range from positron annihilation, dielectric relaxation, and dynamic mechanical spectroscopy to thermally stimulated currents. Fractional free volume is determined for the samples with different substituted side groups and related to the glass transition temperature. Bulkier groups lead to a greater fractional free volume and lower glass transition temperatures. Comparison of molecular relaxation times using the different characterization techniques demonstrates that there is strong coupling between motion of the main chain and the side groups, on which the dipoles reside. Intermolecular coupling between the main chains at the primary relaxation is shown in this work to be related to the nature of the side chains and resultant free volume, as are the temperature locations of local, secondary relaxations. A qualitative model describing the effect of regiochemistry on the motions and packing of these materials is also proposed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 1465–1481, 1998     

Quasielastic neutron scattering of poly(methyl phenyl siloxane) in the bulk and under severe confinement

Quasielastic neutron scattering was utilized to investigate the influence of confinement on polymer dynamics. Poly(methyl phenyl siloxane) chains were studied in the bulk as well as severely confined within the approximately 1-2 nm interlayer spacing of intercalated polymer/layered organosilicate nanohybrids. The temperature dependence of the energy resolved elastic scattering measurements for the homopolymer and the nanocomposites exhibit two distinct relaxation steps: one due to the methyl group rotation and one that corresponds to the phenyl ring flip and the segmental motion. Quasielastic incoherent measurements show that the very local process of methyl rotation is insensitive to the polymer glass transition temperature and exhibits a wave-vector independent relaxation time and a low activation energy, whereas it is not affected at all by the confinement. At temperatures just above the calorimetric glass transition temperature, the observed motion is the phenyl ring motion, whereas the segmental motion is clearly identified for temperatures about 60 K higher than the glass transition temperature. For the nanohybrid, the segmental motion is found to be strongly coupled to the motion of the surfactant chains for temperatures above the calorimetric glass transition temperature of the bulk polymer. However, the mean square displacement data show that the segmental motion in confinement is faster than that of the bulk polymer even after the contribution of the surfactant chains is taken into consideration.     

Broadband dielectric study of dynamics of polymer and solvent in poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)/normal alcohol mixtures

Broadband dielectric measurements of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP)-monohydroxyl alcohol mixtures of various normal alcohols with the number of carbon atoms per molecule ranging from 1 to 9 were made in the frequency range of 20 Hz to 20 GHz at 25 degrees C. Two relaxation processes due to the reorientation of dipoles on the PVP and alcohol molecules were observed. The relaxation process at frequencies higher than 100 MHz is the primary process of alcohols, and that at frequencies lower than 10 MHz is attributed to the local chain motion of PVP. For mixtures of alcohol molecules that are smaller than propanol, the relaxation time of the alcohol increases with increasing PVP concentration, whereas for mixtures of alcohol molecules larger than butanol, the relaxation time of the alcohol decreases with increasing PVP concentration. The increase in the density of hydrogen-bonding sites upon the addition of PVP reduces the relaxation time of alcohol in the mixture, and vice versa. The relaxation time of the local chain motion of PVP increases with PVP concentration and solvent viscosity. Different time scales of the molecular motions of polymer and solvent coexist in homogeneous mixtures with hydrogen-bonded polar solvent and polymer.     

Thermally induced reorganization in LCP fibers

The molecular reorganization occurring in liquid crystalline polymer fiber during heat treatment is of great interest for many commercial reasons. Using thermal analysis techniques, WAXS and real time temperature dependent synchrotron SAXS, the structure and morphology of commercial LCP (liquid crystalline polymer), Vectran®, HBA/HNA (p-hydroxybenzoic acid/6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid), and its variant polymer fiber COTBP, HBA/HNA/BP/TA (BP-benzophenone, TA-terephthalic acid), have been examined. Both fibers have the typical liquid crystalline polymer structure, i.e., highly aligned with aperiodic sequencing along the fiber axis. There is a three-fold increase in strength in both fibers with heat treatment; however, the modulus is observed to increase significantly in COTBP but not in Vectran®. This paper reports on the changes and the differences on the structural and morphological behavior for both the as-spun and heat-treated LCP fibers. We propose an ‘oriented entanglement’ model to describe the differences between the two polymer fibers.     

A study of molecular motion in a liquid-crystalline copolyester by broad-line nuclear magnetic resonance

Broad-line nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements have been carried out for the proton resonance in an oriented liquid-crystalline copolyster prepared from 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) and 2-hydroxy-6-naphthoic acid (HNA). The Second moments were determined as a function of the angle γ between the specimen orientation direction and the static magnetic field. The low-temperature NMR results are consistent with a rigid structure of random copolymer chains arranged on a hexagonal lattice. As the temperature is raised the NMR signal changes and can be modeled very satisfactorily by considering that there is free rotation of the benzene ring residues about the 1-4 substitution direction. At more elevated temperatures the observed NMR spectra are consistent with rotation of both HBA and HNA groups.     

Effect of nuclear motion on the absorption spectrum of dipicolinic acid

Using semiclassical electron-radiation-ion dynamics, the authors have examined the effect of nuclear motion, resulting from both finite temperature and the response to a radiation field, on the line broadening of the excitation profile of 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (dipicolinic acid). With nuclei fixed, there is a relatively small broadening associated with the finite time duration of an applied laser pulse. When the nuclei are allowed to move, the excitation spectrum exhibits a much larger broadening, and is also reduced in height and shifted toward lower frequencies. In both cases, the excitation is due to well-defined pi to pi* transitions. The further inclusion of thermal motion at room temperature broadens the linewidth considerably because of variations in the molecular geometry: Transitions that had zero or negligible transition probabilities in the ground state geometry are weakly excited at room temperature.     

一类含萘环结构的聚酯酰亚胺液晶聚合物的结构与性能研究

利用Higashi芳香聚酯直接缩聚法的原理,采用分步投料的方法,以N,N′-1,6-亚己基-双苯偏三酸酰亚胺二酸(IA6)、6-羟基-乙-萘甲酸(HNA)和4,4′-二羟基二苯酮(DHBP)为单体原料,合成了一系列聚酯酰亚胺共聚物.用核磁共振(NMR)、差热分析(DSC)、偏光显微镜(PLM)、广角X射线衍射(WAXD)、热重分析(TGA)等手段对所合成的聚酯酰亚胺的液晶行为、结构以及热性能进行了表征.研究结果表明,当HNA投料量占单体总投料量高于33mol%时,所得聚合物均呈明显的向列型热致液晶特性.但是,此类液晶聚合物仅在升温过程中出现液晶的相转变,而在降温过程中并未观察到液晶的相转变行为.由DSC结果分析可知,此类聚合物具有较高的玻璃化转变温度(Tg)和较低的熔融温度(Tm),有望成为一类既具有较低加工温度又有较高使用温度的液晶聚合物材料.