Pressure dependence of the viscosity of dilute polystyrene solutions in toluene

The effect of pressure on the viscosity of dilute solutions of anionically polymerized polystyrene (M?_w = 209,000; M_w/M_n = 1.12) in toluene has been studied at different temperatures and concentrations using a falling-body viscometer. Measurements were performed in the concentration range from 0.0025 to 0.02 g/mL and at temperatures from 25 to 45°C under pressure up to 1057 bars. The viscosity coefficient η increases exponentially with pressure at a given temperature and concentration, while the apparent volume of activation V^? decreases with increasing temperature. The hypothesis that the pressure dependence of η is given by the pressure dependence of the activation energy holds true under the prevailing thermodynamic conditions. Log η increases linearly with increasing concentration at a given pressure. Intrinsic viscosity increases with increasing pressure, whereas the Huggins constant decreases.     

Osmotic compressibility in dilute polystyrene‐cyclohexane and polystyrene‐methylcyclohexane solutions: Correlation of polystyrene virial coefficients with solvent quality

Osmotic compressibilities were determined as a function of temperature for solutions of polystyrene in cyclohexane and methylcyclohexane by static light scattering, the measurements extending well below the theta temperature, T = θ. Virial coefficients extracted from the data are compared with literature values obtained by light scattering, membrane osmometry, and phase equilibrium measurements, and successfully correlated over wide ranges of molecular weight, temperature, and solvent quality. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 184–196, 2001     

Polarized and depolarized dynamic light scattering of concentrated polystyrene solutions

Polarized and depolarized dynamic light scattering have been used to examine the dynamics of concentrated polystyrene solutions in dioctyl phthalate and toluene. Time-temperature superposition of the depolarized intensity correlation functions gave master curves covering more than 10 decades on the time scale. Polarized correlation functions are resolved into relaxational and diffusive components having different temperature dependences. When the relaxation rate of the concentration fluctuations approaches the reorientational relaxation rate, the concentration fluctuations become q-independent i.e. the diffusional relaxation is rate-determined by the backbone mobility. With a small molecule solvent as toluene, however, a part of the concentration fluctuations relaxes faster than the orientational relaxation, i.e., the diffusion occurs in the free volume within the “frozen” network.     

Non-Newtonian flow curves including lower and upper Newtonian regions for dilute and moderately concentrated polystyrene solutions

The non-Newtonian viscosity in steady flow was measured for solutions of polystyrene (M?_w/M?_n = 1.1) in diethyl phthalate at 30.0°C. In the moderately concentrated solutions, from 6.03 × 10^?2 to 5.62 × 10^?1g/cm³, the viscosity data modified by frictional parameters fit the Graessley theoretical curve for a narrow distribution polymer. The dilute solutions, from 3.26 × 10^?3 to 1.57 × 10^?2 g/cm³, were nonentangled systems whose non-Newtonian properties could be explained by the excluded volume effect as proposed by Fixman. On the basis of the non-Newtonian data, it was concluded that the solution of 3.30 × 10^?2 g/cm³ was a lower critical entanglement concentration, which was distinguished from the usual higher critical concentration for entanglement. This lower critical concentration was also found in the concentration dependence of the activation energy of flow and the absorbance at 310 nm.     

Relaxation spectra of concentrated polystyrene solutions

The relaxation modulus G(t) and the stress decay after cessation of steady shear flow were measured on concentrated solutions of polystyrenes in diethyl phthalate. Ranges of concentration c and molecular weight M of the polymer were from 0.112 to 0.329 g/ml and from 1.23 × 10⁶ to 7.62 × 10⁶, respectively. The relaxation spectrum H(τ) as calculated from G(t) for the solution of very high M was found to be composed of two parts. One, at relatively short times, was a broad distribution (plateau zone) with height proportional to c². The second, at the long-time end, was very sensitive to concentration and gave rise to a maximum in H(τ) for very high concentrations. The behavior of H(τ) at long times was examined quantitatively by evaluating the longest relaxation time τ₁⁰ and the corresponding relaxation strength G₁⁰ from G(t) and from the stress decay function, on the assumption of a discrete distribution of relaxation times at long times. The longest relaxation time was approximately proportional to M^3.5, even at relatively low concentrations where the zero-shear viscosity was not proportional to M^3.5. The strengths of relaxation modes with the longest few relaxation times are proportional to the third power of concentration.     

Three-phase equilibrium in solutions of polystyrene homologues in cyclohexane

The equilibrium of three liquid phases in solutions of two polystyrene homologues in cyclohexane has been studied experimentally for different values of the average molecular weights of the two polymer species. The compositions of the phases have been determined in some cases. The variation in the size of the three-phase region with change in the molecular weights is discussed, particularly in connection with the occurrence of a tricritical point. Some qualitative observations of the phase behavior in mixed solvent systems are mentioned.     

Crystallization of isotactic polystyrene from dilute solutions

The overall rate of crystallization of isotactic polystyrene from dilute solutions, 1% by weight, in trans-decalin and benzyl alcohol was studied as a function of temperature using dilatometry. These solvents were chosen because the dissolution temperatures of crystalline isotactic polystyrene are practically the same in both solvents. The overall rate of crystallization as a function of crystallization temperature showed a maximum in both solvents at about 50°C. At lower crystallization temperatures the rate of crystallization is much lower. The overall rate of crystallization of isotactic polystyrene in benzyl alcohol is far larger than in trans-decalin at the same undercooling throughout the temperature range, which is in apparent contradiction to present crystallization theories. At very large undercooling (T_c lower than about 0°C) the solutions of isotactic polystyrene in both solvents quickly become “rigid” gels. Surface replicas of freeze-etched gels indicate that a fringed micelle type of crystallization takes place at these low temperatures. The transition from folded chain crystallization to fringed micelle crystallization may be due to a stiffening of the polymer chain below about 50°C, with a reduced rotational mobility of the phenyl groups on the chain. If very dilute solutions, below 0.5% by weight, are crystallized at these low temperatures no gels were formed but fibrous crystals are produced which could be observed under the polarizing microscope.     

Rheo-optical studies of concentrated polystyrene solutions subjected to transient simple shear flow

Concentrated polystyrene solutions were investigated on the inception and cessation of simple shear flow by means of the technique of two-color flow birefringence. Both monodisperse solutions of various molecular weights and bimodal mixtures were studied. The molecular weight affected both the amount of overshoot in the birefringence and the response time on the inception of shear flow. Large overshoots in birefringence, up to 250%, and undershoot in the orientation angle were observed. The shear stress and the first normal stress difference were calculated by using the stress–optical rule. The amount of strain at the peaks in the stress growth curves are presented along with the steady-state viscosity and primary normal stress coefficient. The experimental results are compared qualitatively with theoretical predictions of various molecular models.     

Viscosimetric study of polystyrene polymacromonomer dilute solutions

The viscosimetric behaviour of poly(ω-norbornenyl polystyrene) polymacromonomers is studied in dilute solutions as a function of the degree of polymerisation and the branch molar mass. We emphasise the fact that the exact molar mass characterisation using scattering techniques is illusory, owing to a strong intermolecular contribution in the scattering distribution, as evidenced by neutron scattering. Two characteristic behaviours are evidenced in the viscosimetric dependence versus molar mass of the polymacromonomer and are attributed to their global conformation when they could be considered as spherically or cylindrically symmetric. Moreover for the branch of higher molar mass used an unexplained deviation appears between the two behaviours. Received: 6 May 2000 Accepted: 6 September 2000     

Degradation on freezing dilute polystyrene solutions in p-xylene

Chain scission was observed during the crystallization of p-xylene in dilute polystyrene solutions. Degradation yields were determined by gel permeation chromatography, as a function of the number of freeze-and-thaw cycles, polymer concentration, and initial polymer molecular weight (M). The rate constant for chain scission K_c increases with the polymer chain length, from 0.021%/cycle at M = 110·10³ to 4.7%/cycle at M = 8.5·10⁶. Over the two decades range of investigated molecular weights, K_c follows an empirical scaling law of the form K_c ～ (M ? M_lim)^1.17578, where M_lim is a limiting molecular weight ? 29,000 g. mol^?1 below which no degradation could be induced. Some propensity for midchain scission was detected, although this tendency was much weaker in comparison to flow-induced degradation. A chain scission model based on crack propagation failed to reproduce the experimental results. To explain the observed dependence of K_c with the square of the radius of gyration, an interfacial stress transmission mechanism between the crystallization fronts and the polymer coil has been proposed. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Adiabatic compressibility of polymer solutions—II. Polystyrene in toluene

Adiabatic compressibility data for polystyrene, using samples of various molecular weights dissolved in toluene, are reported as a function of concentration. These data are compared with calculations of the incremental compressibility obtained from viscoelastic and longitudinal acoustic relaxation studies. The differences between the observed and calculated increments are attributed to polymer-solvent interactions.     

Dynamic mechanical properties of moderately concentrated polystyrene solutions

The storage (G′) and loss (G″) shear moduli have been measured in the frequency range from 0.04 to 630 Hz for solutions of narrow distribution polystyrenes with molecular weights (M) 19,800 to 860,000, and a few of poly(vinyl acetate), M = 240,000. The concentration (c) range was 0.014–0.40 g/ml and the viscosities of the solvents (diethyl phthalate and chlorinated diphenyls) ranged from 0.12 to 70 poise. Data at different temperatures (0–40°C) were combined by the method of reduced variables. Two types of behavior departing from the usual frequency dependence describable by the Rouse-Zimm-Tschoegl theories were observed. First, for M ? 20,000, the ratio (G″ ? ωη_s)/G′ in the neighborhood of ωτ₁ = 1 was abnormally large and the steady-state compliance J was abnormally small, especially at the lowest concentrations studied. Here ω is circular frequency, η_s solvent viscosity, and τ₁ terminal relaxation time. Related anomalies have been observed by others in undiluted polymers at still lower molecular weights. Second, at the highest concentrations and molecular weights, a “crossover” region of the logarithmic frequency scale appeared in which G″ ? ωη_s < G′. The width of this region is a linear function of log c; the frequency dependence under these conditions can be represented by a sequence of Rouse relaxation times grafted on to a sequence of Zimm relaxation times. For each molecular weight, the terminal relaxation time τ₁ was approximately a single function of c for different solvents of widely different η_s. At lower concentrations, τ₁ was close to the Rouse prediction of 6ηM/π²cRT, where η is the steady-flow viscosity; but at higher concentrations, τ₁ was proportional to η/c² and corresponded, according to a recent theory of Graessley, to an average molecular weight of 20,000 between entanglement coupling points in the undiluted polymer.     

Study of the dissolution process of polystyrene in concentrated cyclohexane solution by MNR relaxation

 ¹³C-NMR relaxation times of polystyrene (PS) chains in its theta solvent, cyclohexane, have been measured at different temperatures. It was found that relaxation of carbon nuclei of the side-chain-phenyl groups and those of main chains have remarkably different temperature-dependent relaxation behaviors in the solvent. A two-step model for the dissolution process is proposed. According to the model, swelling of the polymer below θ temperature corresponds mainly to the gradual dispersion of the side-chain phenyl groups; while the complete dissolution above θ temperature corresponds mainly to the gradual dispersion of the main chains at a molecular level. These dispersions reflect the fact that cohesional interaction among side-chain-phenyl rings or main chains are weakened by solvent molecules, which shows the existence of the cohesional entanglements among polymer chains. The results of T ₁(C) are confirmed by the biexponential dependence of ¹H-NMR spin–spin relaxation on temperature. Received: 2 July 1997 Accepted: 21 October 1997     

Nonlinear viscoelastic diffusion in concentrated polystyrene/ethylbenzene solutions

Nonlinear gradient-driven diffusion was studied in concentrated polystyrene (PS)/ethylbenzene (EB) solutions using vapor sorptions with a finite driving force. The nonlinear sorptions were carried out on thin films (≅2.05, 3.50 μ thick) at conditions where non-Fickian, “viscoelastic” effects appear. These data were modeled with the nonlinear diffusion equation studied by Tang. Four dimensionless material parameters in the model were determined from a limited amount of linear-response, differential sorption data on PS/EB mixtures measured in the same range of experimental conditions as for the nonlinear sorptions. The nonlinear model successfully predicts the observed nonlinear response either above or below the glass transition (T_g). In order to simultaneously capture the nonlinear response both above and below T_g, the abrupt change in the concentration dependence of physical properties at T_g must be accounted for. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 2103–2119, 1997     

Conformation analysis of freeze-dried isotactic polystyrene from dilute solutions

Fourier transform infrared spectra of freeze-dried samples of isotactic polystyrene (i-PS) from dilute solutions were analyzed. The 698, 1452, 1493 and 1601 cm⁻¹ bands increased in sharpness and intensity as the solution concentration decreased, indicating that the freeze-dried sample is in a more dilated state. When the freeze-dried i-PS was annealed at 100°C, all aforementioned bands broadened and their heights depressed, accompanied with a significant change of the bands at 981 and 906 cm⁻¹.     

Viscometric properties of dilute polystyrene/dioctyl phthalate solutions

We report viscometric data collected in a Couette rheometry on dilute, single‐solvent polystyrene (PS)/dioctyl phthalate (DOP) solutions over a variety of polymer molecular weights (5.5 × 10⁵ ≤ M_w ≤ 3.0 × 10⁶ Da) and system temperatures (288 K ≤ T ≤ 318 K). In view of the essential viscometric features, the current data may be classified into three categories: The first concerns all the investigated solutions at low shear rates, where the solution properties are found to agree excellently with the Zimm model predictions. The second includes all sample solutions, except for high‐molecular‐weight PS samples (M_w ≥ 2.0 × 10⁶ Da), where excellent time–temperature superposition is observed for the steady‐state polymer viscosity at constant polymer molecular weights. No similar superposition applies at a constant temperature but varied polymer molecular weights, however. The third appears to be characteristic of dilute high‐molecular‐weight polymer solutions, for which the effects of temperature on the viscosity curve are further complicated at high shear rates. The implications concerning the relative importance of hydrodynamic interactions, segmental interactions, and chain extensibility with increasing polymer molecular weight, system temperature, and shear rate are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 787–794, 2006     

Behavior of concentrated polystyrene solutions in large-amplitude oscillating shear fields

The limits of linear viscoelastic behavior of polystyrene solutions have been investigated by subjecting them to large-amplitude oscillatory strains, γ₀. At strains less than one we find that the dynamic storage modulus G′(ω,γ₀) and the dynamic loss modulus G″(ω,γ₀) decrease quadratically with increasing strain. As a measure of the size of the linear viscoelastic region, we have determined the strain at which the moduli have fallen 5% below their zero-strain values. This strain, γNL, is found to be independent of frequency ω at high frequencies but to increase with decreasing frequency at low frequencies. Behavior of this type is in qualitative agreement with the recent constitutive equation developed by Doi and Edwards. More specifically, we find that the rate of decrease of the storage modulus with increasing strain is quite similar to that predicted by their theory, but that the rate of decrease of the loss modulus is much slower. Some possible approaches for improving the agreement with experimental results are suggested. In the course of our work an interesting hydrodynamic instability was observed. The nature of this instability and methods to avoid it are discussed.