Origin of the γ relaxations in polyethylene and polytetrafluoroethylene

Mechanical relaxation has been studied at 0.67 cps in linear polyethylene (LPE) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) between ?190 and ?20°C. Specimens were prepared by use of various thermal treatments to produce in LPE a range of crystalline fractions from 0.690 to 0.825 and in PTFE from 0.615 to 0.870. An empirical theory is proposed relating the modulus of the crystalline–amorphous composite solid to the moduli and the volume fractions of the two phases. The empirical theory is shown to be in accord with the bounds of Hill and of Hashin and Shtrikman. The theory is used to determine the magnitudes of the crystalline and amorphous components of the low temperature relaxations in LPE and PTFE from measurements of logarithmic decrement and shear modulus. In PTFE the γ relaxation occurs in the amorphous fraction alone. In LPE the γ relaxation is a composite one, formed from the superposition of a small crystal relaxation and a large amorphous relaxation. For the crystal relaxation in LPE the ratio of relaxed to unrelaxed modulus equals 0.78; for the amorphous relaxation, the ratio equals 0.23. In a specimen of LPE with crystal fraction 0.69 the crystal contribution to the relaxation is 25% of the total. The magnitude of the unrelaxed modulus of the crystal fraction of LPE (modulus of polycrystalline LPE at ?190°C) is in reasonable agreement with theoretical calculations of Odajima and Maeda.     

Dynamic mechanical studies of α and β relaxations of polyethylenes

The α and β relaxations of a variety of polyethylenes have been extensively studied using lowfrequency dynamic mechanical methods. The main focus of this work has been both the control and the quantitative measurement of the key structural factors that describe semicrystalline polymer systems. The structural factors that have been examined in detail include the level of crystallinity, the crystallite thickness, the interfacial content, and the supermolecular structure. Consequently a variety of other types of supplementary measurements were made to accomplish the necessary characterization. The location of the α transition is found to depend primarily on the crystallite thickness. There also is the distinct possibility that the interfacial structure exerts an important influence. The level of crystallinity and the supermolecular structure do not play a significant role in the location of T_α. A strong correlation is found with the carbon-13 NMR crystalline T₁, which is reported in a separate paper. From analysis of the influence of the different structural factors on the β transition, it is concluded that this transition results from the relaxation of chain units which are located in the interfacial region. The elusiveness of this transition and the contradictory reports that have existed in the literature are given a ready explanation. The enhancement of this transition by branching and copolymerization follows naturally as does its invariance with counit content.     

The effect of sorbed oxygen on the γ and δ dielectric relaxations in polystyrene

The γ and δ relaxations of polystyrene (PS) are rendered more active dielectrically by sorbed oxygen. This effect, coupled with comparative work on molecularly similar systems has led to the assignment of the γ relaxation to a rotational libration of the phenyl ring in PS. Specific interactions of the pendant phenyl ring with molecular oxygen to induce off-axis dipole moments in the phenyl moiety is proposed. It is concluded that this interaction is strong enough to influence the dielectric relaxation strength of other relaxations in PS. It is further concluded that because of the interactions occuring in aromatic polymers containing sorbed oxygen, care must be taken to exclude oxygen or to vary its content, in order that intrinsic motions in the polymer system can be studied.     

Low-temperature relaxations in styrene-crosslinked polyester networks. II. The γ′ relaxation

The low-temperature γ′ relaxation was found to originate in the diol units of a variety of crosslinked polyesters. The results were explained in terms of Boyer's Crankshaft model. As the polyester concentration in the networks increased, the γ′ relaxation shifted to higher temperatures and the intensity of the relaxation increased but not as rapidly as the diol concentration. This behaviour was interpreted in terms of an interaction of the relaxing species with the surrounding matrix.     

γ Radiolysis of polyethylene grafted with styrene

γ Radiolysis of polyethylene grafted with styrene of 0–76 wt % was carried out at 30–100°C in vacuo with a dose rate of 6.35 × 10⁵ rad/hr. The formation of hydrogen and trans-vinylene unsaturation decreased as the content of styrene unit in polymer increased and the rate of formation was described by zero-order formation kinetics with respect to each concentration combined with first-order disappearance. The gel fraction changed with the content of styrene unit according to irradiation time and temperature. The gel data were evaluated by using the Charlesby–Pinner equation. Kinetic analysis showed that in γ radiolysis of polyethylene grafted with styrene the formation of hydrogen is somewhat retarded, the crosslinking and main chain scission are accelerated, and the disappearance of hydrogen and formation and disappearance of trans-vinylene unsaturation are almost entirely unaffected. On the basis of these results the reactions induced by γ rays in graft polymer were discussed in connection with the reaction mechanisms of the γ radiolyses of polyethylene and polystyrene.     

Mechanical spectrometry of alpha relaxations of high-density polyethylene

By using an automated low-frequency apparatus, dynamic mechanical experiments are performed on bulk-crystallized high-density polyethylene in the temperature range of the α relaxation. In order to characterize the key morphological features governing the presence of multiple α relaxations, we have developed a simple model from calorimetric data to assess the crystallite size distribution of samples with different thermal histories. The morphological characterizations are completed by wide-angle x-ray diffraction measurements. Isochronal spectrometry and frequency scans performed under isothermal conditions both exhibit two α relaxations designated α₁ and α₂, with increasing temperature (or increasing frequency). These two relaxations are frequency dependent but they are not thermorheologically simple processes. Some analogy is found between tan ? versus temperature or frequency and the biomodal lamellar size distribution curves determined from calorimetric data. Moreover, both the temperature of α₂ peak and the most probable lamellar thickness of the larger lamellae depend on the thermal history of the sample: with increasing thickness of the larger lamellae, the α₂ peak temperature is shifted toward higher temperature. In contrast, both the temperature of the a peak and the most probable lamellar thickness of the thinner lamellae seem to be independent of thermal history: the thinner lamellae should be formed on cooling from the remaining uncrystallized fraction. From thege findings, it is proposed that the α, and α₂ relaxations have the same origins and that they could arise from defect diffusion within the thinner and thicker crystallites, respectively, with some influence of the amorphous matter in the interfacial regions.     

Micromechanical fast quasi‐static detection of α and β relaxations with nanograms of polymer

Micromechanical string resonators are used as a highly sensitive tool for the detection of glass transition (T_g or α relaxation) and sub‐T_g (β relaxation) temperatures of polystyrene (PS) and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The characterization technique allows for a fast detection of mechanical relaxations of polymers with only few nanograms of sample in a quasi‐static condition. The polymers are spray coated on one side of silicon nitride (SiN) microstrings. These are pre‐stressed suspended structures clamped on both ends to a silicon frame. The resonance frequency of the microstrings is then monitored as a function of increasing temperature. α and β relaxations in the polymer affect the net static tensile stress of the microstring and result in measureable local frequency slope maxima. T_g of PS and PMMA is detected at 91 ±2°C and 114 ±2°C, respectively. The results match well with the glass transition values of 93.6°C and 114.5°C obtained from differential scanning calorimetry of PS and PMMA, respectively. The β relaxation temperatures are detected at 30 ± 2°C and 33 ± 2°C for PS and PMMA which is in accordance with values reported in literature. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1035–1039     

Kinetic study of the γ radiolysis of polyethylene

A kinetic study was made of the formation of hydrogen and trans-vinylene unsaturation in the radiolysis of polyethylene induced by γ rays with a dose rate of 6.35 × 10⁵ rad/hr at 30–100°C in vacuo. The rates of the formation of hydrogen and trans-vinylene unsaturation were described by the zero-order formation kinetics with respect to each concentration combined with the first-order disappearance. The apparent rate constant for the formation of hydrogen increased gradually with rising irradiation temperature to give the activation energy of 0.6 kcal/mole. On the other hand, those for the disappearance of hydrogen and the formation and disappearance of trans-vinylene unsaturation were almost independent of temperature. The G values for crosslinking and main-chain scission were obtained from the gel data by using the Charlesby-Pinner equation, and the activation energy of 1.5 kcal/mole was given for both of them. On the basis of these results the reactions induced by γ rays in solid polyethylene were discussed.     

Structural heterogeneity and dynamic mechanical relaxations of ethylene α‐olefin copolymers

Dynamic mechanical measurements are reported on two polyethylene copolymers with different types of comonomers and well‐characterized comonomer distributions. Measurements on both isotropic and oriented samples were undertaken over a wide frequency range. The mechanical anisotropy and activation energies of the α and β relaxations are consistent with the former relating to c‐shear in the crystals, and the latter to interlamellar shear. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 51–60, 1999     

Morphology of polyethylene crystals as polymerized by γ-radiation

The morphology of polyethylenes formed upon polymerization by γ-radiation below the melting point in various reaction media was investigated by using electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. When the polymerization was carried out in bulk at 30°C and in methanol, the polymer was fibrillar, and a small-angle x-ray scattering curve of the polymer did not indicate the existence of a long period. This suggests that the chains in the crystals have an extended conformation. When the polymerization was carried out in the presence of xylene at 30°C, platelet crystals having a folded structure were obtained. It was thus shown that the morphology of the growing polymer crystals is very much affected by the solubility of the polymer in the reaction medium. The effect of stirring during polymerization on the crystalline morphology was also studied.     

Comparative study of dielectric,mechanical, and nuclear magnetic relaxations in linear polyethylene. II. Relaxation spectroscopy of the α, β, and γ loss bands with special emphasis on fine structure

Dielectric, mechanical, and NMR retardation (correlation) spectra for relaxations in linear polyethylene were calculated in normalized form and intercompared. For each of the two local-mode relaxations in the γ region, called γ₁ and γ₂, these spectra are found to be in excellent agreement. For the α region, the spectra for two mechanical processes, called α₁ and α₂, two NMR processes, called α′ and α, and one dielectric process α were calculated. Excellent agreement is found between the spectra for the dielectric α and NMR α′ processes and also spectra for the mechanical α₂ and NMR α processes, due to molecular motion in the interior of crystals. However, the spectrum for the mechanical α₁ process is different from that for the dielectric α and NMR α′ processes, though the activation energy for the first process is almost the same as for the other two. This behavior is interpreted on the assumption that the dielectric α and NMR α′ processes are caused by molecular motion in lamellar surface layers while the mechanical α₁ process is due to grain-boundary slip with viscous resistance of the surface layers in the boundaries. The shapes of the spectra, including the spectrum for the β process, are not affected by diluent.     

Synthesis of γγγ-trifluorocarbonyl compounds

γγγ-Trifluorocarbonyl compounds are easily obtained in a good yield by introduction of the 1,1,1-trifluoroethyl moiety (CF₃-CH₂-) on the -methylene group of a ketone.     

The influence of short branches on the α, β and γ-relaxation processes of ultra-high strength polyethylene fibers

Dynamic mechanical measurements were conducted for several kinds of ultra–high-strength polyethylene fibers with different methyl branch contents. As is the case with conventional polyethylene materials, UHSPE fibers also exhibit α, β, and γ-relaxation dispersions. Each relaxation process is the function of both the tensile moduli and the branch contents of UHSPE fibers. It was also found that the γ-process of UHSPE fibers is dominated mainly by the localized molecular motion in the crystalline part, such as a dislocation mode of crystallite defects, which is very sensitive to the branching content. From the time and temperature superposition of the frequency dispersion experiments, it was found that activation energies for both the α2-process and α3-process increase proportionally to the methyl branch content, while the α1-process is not so affected by the branch content. This result shows that the incorporated branch sites in the crystalline part effectively hinder the chain-to-chain slippage; meanwhile, they have not hindered the slippage at the grain boundary so far, which also enables us to explain the creep improvement of UHSPE fibers through branch incorporation with the same mechanism. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The effect of γ-irradiation on slow crack growth in polyethylene

HDPE was γ-irradiated at room temperature. The resistance to slow crack growth (SCG) was measured in single edge notched tensile specimens under constant load as a function of the dose. The resistance to SCG initially decreased to a minimum value at a dose between 0.05 and 0.10 Mrd. The minimum value was 45% less than for the undosed state. For doses greater than 0.10 Mrd, the resistance to SCG increased up to a dose of 50 Mrd, where its value had increased by a factor of 10². The gel point occurred at 1–3 Mrd. MI and the crack opening displacement exhibited maximum values at a dose of 0.1 Mrd. The behaviors of SCG, MI and crack opening displacement were consistent with the explanation that chain scission dominated for doses less than 0.1 Mrd, and cross-linking dominated at the higher doses. For doses beyond 50 Mrd, the resin became so brittle that it cracked during the loading of the specimen. Beyond the gel point the density increased from 0.9694 to 0.9716 g/cm³ at a dose of 160 Mrd. ©1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

γ,δ‐ and δ,ε‐Unsaturated Aldehydes from γ‐ and δ‐Lactones in One Step. Preliminary Communication

A one‐step transformation of γ‐ and δ‐(spiro)lactones into γ,δ‐ and δ,ε‐unsaturated aldehydes with an excess of formic acid in the vapor phase over a supported manganese catalyst is described for the first time. The scope and limitations of this new reaction are shown with different lactones as substrate, and a mechanistic rationale is proposed.