Dilute solution properties of polylaurolactam

For a number of fractions and unfractionated samples of polylaurolactam, molecular weights ($\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>w</mtext>}}\text{= 1 × 10}{}^4\text{?12·5 × 10}{}^4$) were measured by the light-scattering method in a mixed solvent of m-cresol with 60 vol. % 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropanol; intrinsic viscosities were determined in m-cresol and 96% H₂SO₄, and the constants of the Mark-Houwink equation were calculated. The calculated values of the characteristic ratio of unperturbed dimensions (virtually identical for m-cresol and 96% H₂SO₄) were compared with the respective values for polypyrrolidone and polycaprolactam. It was found that the higher frequency of the CONH-groups reduces the rigidity of the polyamide chain.     

Dilute solution characterization of polyfluoroalkoxyphosphazenes

Results from the dilute solution characterization of polyfluoroalkoxyphosphazenes in Freon ether (E2) solutions are reported. Anomalous viscosity data suggest that polymer aggregation sometimes occurs in E2 and may be caused by the presence of relatively few anomalous polar groups on the polymer backbone. Since small amounts of acetone added to the E2 solutions inhibit aggregate formation, samples are also characterized in an E2-acetone mixed solvent. Light scattering and osmometry indicate that E2 and E2-acetone (9.09% by volume) are theta solvents for the polymers. High molecular weights (M?_w < 3 × 10⁶) and unusually broad molecular weight distributions (M?_w/M?_n < 16) are found. One polymer is fractionated by extracting solutions in 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane with acetone. Although the samples are highly polydisperse, intrinsic viscosities correlate with number-average molecular weights satisfying the Mark-Houwink relation with the exponent a ≈ 1/2. The z-average mean-square radius of gyration increases linearly with molecular weight so that 〈S²〉_g/M?_w ≈ 0.098. Because of the large polydispersity and unknown form of the distribution function, a quantitative interpretation of characterization results relating dilute solution parameters to polymer skeletal structure is not possible. The tentative conclusion is that the fluoroalkoxy-substituted phosphazene polymers are relatively linear and therefore that the broad distribution of molecular weights must be due to some polymerization mechanism other than branching.     

Dilute solution studies of pyrrone prepolymers

Data on dilute solutions of a pyrrone “prepolymer” are presented and the tendency of this polymer to aggregate in certain solvents commonly used in dilute solution studies is discussed. It is concluded that reliable molecular weights can be determined if solvents that interact with the prepolymer through hydrogen bonding are used.     

Dilute solution studies of nitrogen-substituted polyurethanes

A high molecular weight linear polyurethane was prepared by the polyaddition of equimolar amounts of ethylene glycol and methylene bis(4-phenyl isocyanate). Varying amounts of the labile carbamate protons of the polyurethane backbone were substituted by a number of groups of varying length and composition. The resultant grafted or nitrogen-substituted polyurethanes were then studied viscometrically in both polymer solvent and in a polymer solvent—nonsolvent mixture. The configuration of the nitrogen-substituted polyurethane was found to be dependent upon the number and length of pendent branches.     

Dilute solution properties of a polybenzimidazole

Light scattering and viscometric studies have been carried out on dilute solutions of a polybenzimidazole in N,N-dimethylacetamide. The data, which span the molecular weight range 2.9 ≦ 10^?4M_w ≦ 23.3, and the temperature range 290 ≦ T/K ≦343, yield the dependence of the mean-square radius of gyration 〈s²〉_LS, the second virial coefficient A₂, and the intrinsic viscosity [η] on molecular weight M_w and temperature. The unperturbed mean-square radius 〈s〉_LS was calculated using experimental values of 〈s²〉_LS and A₂. It was found that excluded volume effects on 〈s²〉_LS are very small. The unperturbed hydrodynamic chain dimension 〈s〉_η was estimated by considering draining effects. A small value of the draining parameter was obtained. Analysis of the temperature dependence of A₂ and [eta;] leads to the conclusion that this system approaches a lower theta temperature with increasing temperature. The steric factor σ = 〈s〉/〈s〉f, based on the value of 〈s〉_f calculated for the polymer chain with free rotation, is nearly unity. Most of these properties can be interpreted in terms of long rotational units within the main chain.     

Dilute solution properties of branched polymers

For calculating the ratio of the intrinsic viscosities of branched and linear polymers of the same molecular weight, [η]_B/[η]_L, a new theory taking into account the excluded volume effect is presented. By using the modified Flory equation, the excluded volume effect of branched polymers is predicted with the aid of the first-order perturbation theory. The linear expansion factor α_s is converted to the hydrodynamic expansion factor α_η by using the Kurata-Yamakawa theory. Our calculated results, i.e., [η]_B/[η]_L and 〈s²〉_B/〈s²〉_L, agree well with experiment for various type branched polymers, i.e., randomly branched and comb-shaped polymers of poly(vinyl acetate).     

Dilute solution properties of epoxy resins

Number-average molecular weights of fractions of epoxy resins were estimated by vapor-pressure osmometry and size exclusion chromatography coupled with multiple-angle light scattering. Potential reasons for differences between the two sets of data are examined. The molecular weight dependences of the intrinsic viscosity in tetrahydrofuran and chloroform are discussed in terms of theories which take into account the low-molecular weight character of poly(hydroxy ether) chains. The polymer-solvent interaction parameter is estimated. The impact of the presence of branched chains on the results of size exclusion chromatography is examined. It is shown that the universal calibration of size exclusion chromatographic columns by polystyrene is reliable at molecular weights above 2000 only.     

Dilute solution properties of sodium amylopectin xanthate

Sodium amylopectin xanthate, prepared by xanthation of potato amylopectin in alkaline medium, was fractionated and the fractions in 1M NaOH were characterized by viscometry and light scattering. The expansion factor α was determined from the expression due to Orofino and Flory. The value of a of the Mark-Houwink relation, [η] = KM^a, was also determined. Its weight-average molecular weight, end-to-end distance, branching, and other parameters in alkali solution were also evaluated. From the data, it was concluded that the sodium amylopectin xanthate molecule had a polydisperse random-coil chain configuration in 1M NaOH and had no tendency to aggregate in this medium.     

Dilute solution characterization of a POLA polyester

Samples of poly(4,4′-isopropylidenediphenylene 1,1,3-trimethyl-3-phenylindan-4′,5- dicarboxylate) were fractionated by the column-elution, temperature-gradient technique. Selected fractions, covering a 10-fold range of molecular weight, were shown to have narrow molecular weight distributions by gel-permeation chromatography (GPC), i.e., M?_w/M?_n = 1.15 ± 0.10. The fractions were further characterized by viscometry, light scattering, and membrane osmometry. Characterization of the small samples (ca. 0.3 g) was facilitated by use of a low-volume light scattering cell. This allows measurements of refractive increment, light scattering, and viscosity to be performed on as little as 50 mg of sample. Molecular weights estimated by the GPC-viscometry technique were in good agreement with the values obtained by light scattering. Estimates of the perturbed coil dimensions (150–200 Å) were in satisfactory agreement with those observed experimentally. The polydispersities of the fractions, determined by osmometry and light scattering, were in fair agreement with GPC data; the latter are considered subject to less experimental uncertainty.     

Dilute solution properties of sodium cellulose disulphate

Sodium cellulose sulphate (NaCaS), with degree of substitution (DS) of 1.90, was synthesized by reacting samples of cellulose, covering a wide range of average molecular weight, with S03/dimethyl formamide complex. A solution of NaCS in 0.5 M aq. NaCl was studied by solution viscometry, light scattering and membrane osmometry. The solution was dialysed against solvent. The following MarkHouwink-Sakurada equation and relation between the z-average radius of gyration and weightaverage molecular weight, Mw, were established for $\text{7.2 × 10}{}^4\text{?}\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{w}}\text{? 1.5 × 10}{}^6\text{at 25°}$.The NaCS with salt system was analysed according to the theory of linear non-ionic polymers. Flory's viscosity parameter φ is significantly molecular weight dependent. The partially free draining effect and the excluded volume effect were estimated and the former predominated. The unperturbed chain can be regarded as Gaussian and its dimension A was found to be 1.21 × 10^?8 cmand the conformation parameter a was 2.9.     

Dilute solution properties of asymmetric six-arm star polystyrenes

Six-arm star polystyrenes having varying numbers of short and long arms attached to the same molecule have been synthesized by anionic polymerization. The molecules have been characterized by high resolution size exclusion chromatography using multiangle light scattering and viscosity detectors. This technique has allowed the radii of gyration and intrinsic viscosities to be measured for stars with each possible combination of arms. The branching parameters g and g′ are computed and compared with theoretical expectations. It is found that short arms add preferentially to the stars, because of reduced steric effects. The molecule with one long and five short arms exhibits behavior closest to that of a linear chain (largest branching ratios). The effect of arm polydispersity on solution properties of stars is discussed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Dilute solution properties and phase separation of branched low-density polyethylene

Viscosity, light scattering, and precipitation temperature measurements on dilute solutions of high-density and low-density polyethylene fractions have been carried out and a theory by Flory for phase equilibrium of linear polymers has been extended to branched polymer. From the results, it is shown that the entropy parameter ψ, depends on branching; a method for the determination of long-chain branching in polymer fractions is proposed combining precipitation temperature and molecular weight measurements. The method has been applied to the evaluation of long-chain branching in low-density polyethylene.     

Dilute solution properties of a polyurethane. I. Linear polymers

A linear polyurethane of high molecular weight was prepared in solution by the polyaddition of equimolar amounts of ethylene glycol and methylene bis(4-phenyl isocyanate). The polymer was fractionated by using a direct sequential extraction procedure, with a solvent–nonsolvent system consisting of N,N′-dimethylformamide (DMF) and acetone (A). The resulting fractions were characterized by viscosity and lightscattering measurements. The relationship between the intrinsic viscosity and molecular weight was found in DMF at 25°C. to be [η] = 3.64 × 10^?4M^0.71. The unperturbed polymer chain dimensions were determined from intrinsic viscosity measurements carried out under experimentally determined theta conditions.     

Dilute solution properties of cellulose in LiOH/urea aqueous system

Cellulose was dissolved rapidly in 4.6 wt % LiOH/15 wt % urea aqueous solution and precooled to –10 °C to create a colorless transparent solution. ¹³C‐NMR spectrum proved that it is a direct solvent for cellulose rather than a derivative aqueous solution system. The result from transmission electron microscope showed a good dispersion of the cellulose molecules in the dilute solution at molecular level. Weight‐average molecular weight (M_w), root mean square radius of gyration (〈s²〉_z^1/2), and intrinsic viscosity ([η]) of cellulose in LiOH/urea aqueous solution were examined with laser light scattering and viscometry. The Mark–Houwink equation for cellulose in 4.6 wt % LiOH/15 wt % urea aqueous solution was established to be [η] = 3.72 × 10^?2 M in the M_w region from 2.7 × 10⁴ to 4.12 × 10⁵. The persistence length (q), molar mass per unit contour length (M_L), and characteristic ratio (C_∞) of cellulose in the dilute solution were given as 6.1 nm, 358 nm^?1, and 20.8, respectively. The experimental data of the molecular parameters of cellulose agreed with the Yamakawa–Fujii theory of the worm‐like chain, indicating that the LiOH/urea aqueous solution was a desirable solvent system of cellulose. The results revealed that the cellulose exists as semistiff‐chains in the LiOH/urea aqueous solution. The cellulose solution was stable during measurement and storage stage. This work provided a new colorless, easy‐to‐prepare, and nontoxic solvent system that can be used with facilities to investigate the chain conformation and molecular weight of cellulose. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 3093–3101, 2006     

Dilute solution properties of tactic poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)

Isotactic and syndiotactic poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) have been prepared. Intrinsic viscosity–molecular weight relationships were established for the isotactic and syndiotactic PHEMA in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) at 25°C by solution viscometry and light scattering. The unperturbed dimensions and interaction parameters were examined in DMF, water, methanol, ethanol, and water–methanol (1:7 by volume) mixture for isotactic PHEMA and in DMF, methanol, and water–methanol (1:7 by volume) mixture for syndiotactic PHEMA using the Stockmayer–Fixman representation. The results suggest that the compact random coil structure for isotactic PHEMA occurs in water solvent and the isotactic PHEMA is more highly extended in polar solvents.     

Head-to-head polymers—II. Dilute solution properties of head-to-head polypropylene

The behaviour in dilute solution of head-to-head (H-H) polypropylenes, covering the range $\text{M}{}_{\mathrm{n}}\text{= 0.22}$ to 4.19 × 10⁴, has been studied in cyclohexane as solvent at 303 K. The data could be represented by two distinct Mark-Houwink equations describing the low and the high molecular weight regions. The unperturbed dimensions of (H-H) polypropylenes were found to be less than those for conventional atactic polypropylene in agreement with theoretical predictions. The theta temperature for (H-H) polypropylene in isoamylacetate was found to be 316 K. At this temperature the characteristic ratio was estimated to be 4.5 compared with 6.4 for atactic and syndiotactic polypropylene. The conclusion is that (H-H) placements in polypropylene increase the flexibility of the chain.     

Dilute solution properties of poly(styrene acrylonitrile) alternating copolymer

Kuhn-Mark-Houwink-Sakurada relations were obtained in methyl ethyl ketone N,N-di-methylformamide and dichlorethane at 30 for (styrene acrylonitrile) alternating copolymer. The values of the unperturbed dimensions. [K₀ or (r_o^?2/M)^1/2] and conformational parameter σ have been determined, using several graphical and semiempirical methods, and the results were compared with the direct determinations in a θ solvent. The best values for K_θ were obtained using the methods of Stockmayer-Fixman and Inagaki-Suzuki-Kurata. By comparing the values of σ for polystyrene, polyacrylonitrile, random and alternating (styrene-acrylonitrile) copolymers, it is to be concluded that the short-range interactions do not markedly influence the chain dimensions in solutions for random and alternating (styrene-acrylonitrile) copolymers.     

Dilute solution behavior of polyelectrolytes. Intrinsic viscosity and light scattering studies

The conformational character of a random copolymer of ethyl acrylate and acrylic acid (mole ratio 3:1) has been examined by intrinsic viscosity and light scattering in organic and in aqueous media. The unperturbed dimensions of this copolymer in its un-ionized state in an organic theta solvent are 1.3 to 1.4 times those obtained for the fully ionized polymer in an aqueous theta solvent. The data also suggest that a change in conformation from a swollen random coil to a compact random coil occurs in aqueous media as a function of ionic strength. These results are interpreted in terms of the hydrophobic interaction of the ester groups on the chain. An application of the wormlike chain model shows that viscosity data can be used to predict the light scattering results well with in experimental error.     

Dilute solution properties and molecular characterization of poly(butyl methacrylate-co-styrene)

Dilute solution properties of fractionated poly(butyl methacrylate-co-styrene) PBMAS prepared by bulk polymerization, have been investigated by means of light scattering, viscometry, and osmometry. As the composition heterogeneity was narrow, the characterization of the copolymer was effected in a single solvent by light scattering. Infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra were used to determine the composition and sequence distribution of monomer units of the copolymer. The molecular weight dependence of the limiting viscosity number and of the root-mean-square end-to-end distance have been established. The Mark-Houwink relation showed that methylethyl ketone is a good solvent compared with cyclohexane. The validity of various extrapolation procedures that have been proposed to calculate the unperturbed dimensions have been examined. Root-mean-square end-to-end distances have been calculated from the Debye-Bueche and Kirkwood-Riseman methods and compared with the experimental values. The molecular weight dependence of the second virial coefficient agreed well with that calculated from the Orofino-Flory equation. The value of the steric hindrance parameter σ for the copolymer has been found to be 2.27 compared to 2.05 for poly(butyl methacrylate) and 2.22 for polystyrene, which indicates that PBMAS is a stiffer chain in solution than those of the constituent homopolymers.     

Dilute solution studies on a polycarbonate in good and poor solvents

Light-scattering, viscometric and osmometric studies have been carried out on dilute solutions of polycarbonate fractions both in a good solvent and in theta solvents. The data span the molecular weight interval 5 < 10^?3M < 760. It has been concluded that: (1) the overall behavior in dilute solution is consistent with a flexible chain conformation; (2) the ratio of the unperturbed mean-square radius to the molecular weight, or to the number of chain elements, is larger than commonly observed for vinyl polymers; (3) the ratio of the unperturbed radius to the radius calculated for a chain with free rotation about valence bonds has the unusually small value 1.3; and (4) the hydrodynamic behavior of the chain may reflect partical draining affects.