The effect of the chemical structure of chain ends on the thermal degradation of polystyrene

A set of polystyrenes of comparable molecular weight around 4000, prepared by anionic polymerisation, were end-capped with various structures. Their thermal degradation behaviour (weight loss kinetics, nature and amount of volatile by-products) is governed by the nature of the chain ends. Some features of the degradation mechanisms are discussed.     

The rôle of chain ends in the thermal degradation of anionic polystyrene

Direct evidence is given of the initiating rôle played in the thermal degradation of anionic polystyrene by chain ends, either present originally or formed during the degradation. In the early stages of degradation, the most likely bond scission in polystyrenes with benzylic type units (CH₂(C₆H₅)) at both chain ends involves the formation of toluene and an unsaturated terminal unit (CH₂C(C₆H₅)CH₂). The depolymerisation of polystyrene to a mixture of monomer and dimeric, trimeric, etc., fragments is then initiated by further scission at such unsaturated chain ends, giving α-methyl styrene and a depolymerising macroradical.After the early stage of degradation, a further overwhelming contribution to the formation of unsaturated chain ends is derived from chain transfer which occurs during depolymerisation. The concentration of unsaturated chain ends increases throughout the degradation process, thus accelerating the formation of the volatile products of depolymerisation. According to this mechanism of initiation, a constant ratio is found between rates of weight loss and of α-methyl styrene evolution throughout the degradation, independently of the original molecular weight of the polymer.     

Viscosity study of radiation chemistry of polystyrene

The effects of γ-radiation on aqueous polystyrene emulsions were followed by measurements by intrinsic viscosities of soluble polymer in toluene. Estimates of incipient gel dose from intrinsic viscosity data do not coincide closely with those from measurements of gel content. This uncertainty and those in molecular weight averages make it difficult to assign a precise value to G(crosslink), even when the scission crosslinking ratio in the particular system is reliably known. The intrinsic viscosity of sol polymer in the postgel region decreases with increasing dose to an asymptotic value. The decrease is as expected if larger molecules are progressively linked into the gel network and the asymptote may be attributable to cyclization. Present theories of branching do not seem to be applicable for quantitative estimation of scission/crosslinking ratios caused by irradiation of polystyrene. This is probably connected with deficiencies in the theoretical connection between radius of gyration and intrinsic viscosity in good solvents. Diallyl fumarate and diallyl maleate increased crosslinking rates, but only at low doses. Chain scission was enhanced by addition of 1,2-dichloroethylene and 2,5-dimethylhexane-2,5-dihydroperoxide.     

Confinement of polystyrene at interfaces: Consequences on chain orientation

The knowledge of the structure and orientation of polymer chains adsorbed at an interface could be of major importance to predict the level of interfacial interactions and adhesion that depend strongly on the properties of the interface formed between the two materials (polymer and substrate) brought into contact. In this work, we were interested to study thin films of atactic polystyrene after adsorption (spin‐coating) on two chemically different substrates (inert and OH‐grafted gold substrates). The main aim is to analyze the resulting anisotropy due to the confinement in a quasi‐bidimensional geometry, as well as to investigate the incidence of the interfacial interactions, potentially established between the polymer and the surface, on the chain organization. Our infrared spectroscopy results allowed us to access the adsorption model of polystyrene chains and to highlight the relation between chain orientation and interfacial acid–base interactions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1268–1276, 2006     

短链聚苯乙烯稀溶液粘度及渗透压行为

本文用动态膜渗透压及粘度法测定了短链聚苯乙烯的分子量Mn, 第二virial系数A2及特性粘数[η], 得到聚苯乙烯(2.5×10^3, 均方末端距以及扩张因子αs均与报道值一致。本工作表明, 分子量大约在400-1.5×10^4之间, 为聚苯乙烯从小分子到高分子的过渡区, 此时短链聚苯乙烯以蠕虫形链存在于溶液中。     

Effects of polymer chain disentanglement on NMR properties. II. 13C magnetic relaxation in polystyrene

The transverse magnetic relaxation of ¹³C_α nuclei has been studied in concentrated solutions of polystyrene. The magnetic relaxation rate was measured as a function of molecular weight at several temperatures (313,318, and 323 K) and at several concentrations (0.53, 0.43, and 0.34 g/cm³). The spin-system response of these nuclei in natural abundance exhibits a characteristic evolution from pseudosolid properties to liquidlike one, induced by decreasing the molecular weight of polymer molecules. This evolution is analogous to that already observed in protons attached to polyisobutylene or polydimethylsiloxane chains; it is assumed to be induced by an increase of the disentanglement rate of polymer chains. The spin-system response may be considered as reflecting single-chain magnetic properties, because of the low concentration of ¹³CC_α nuclei, although all chains are in dynamic interaction with one another. The NMR disentanglement transition is interpreted in terms of a two-step motional averaging effect involving submolecules. A numerical analysis of NMR properties is given using a model of polymer chain relaxation based on a multiple-mode relaxation process, characterized by (i)a terminal relaxation time τ^v₁ depending upon M³, the molecular weight, and approximately proportional to the polymer concentration C (like the reptation time); (ii)a relaxation-time spectrum analogous to a Rouse spectrum; (iii)a terminal relaxation time τ^v₁ = 2.5 × 10^?2s for M = 2.5 × 10⁵, C = 0.53 g/cm³ in carbon tetrachloride at 313 K.     

Studies of craze fibril deformation during fatigue in polystyrene

Small-angle scattering of synchrotron x-ray radiation has been used to study the effects of fatigue on craze fibril microstructure. The results obtained during unloading and reloading during a single cycle have been compared with those predicted by a model of sinusoidally bent fibrils. In addition the total displacement of the craze boundaries was found from the change in the invariant on unloading. The mean fibril diameter D was measured at the maximum tensile strain in each cycle. Over 250 cycles, D increased by at least a factor of 2 from an initial value of 6.5 nm, with most of this change happening in the first few cycles. The increase in D must occur by fibril coalescence, a mechanism that requires that the material in craze fibrils have considerable molecular mobility, even at room temperature, 70°C below the glass transition temperature.     

Drawing behaviour of syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS)

The drawing behaviour of amorphous and solvated structure of syndiotactic polystyrene has been analysed. By means of X-ray analysis and infra-red spectrometry we have studied the conformational transitions induced by the drawing processing.     

Molecular dimensions and chain conformation in glassy syndiotactic polystyrene

For the first time the small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) from mixtures of protonated and totally deuterated syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) has been studied. Two amorphous samples with similar molecular weights have been measured at various concentrations of the protonated part. All measurements were performed at room temperature using the scattering equipment of two different laboratories. The molecular weight M_w evaluated from SANS data agreed with those obtained by gel permeation analysis (GPC). In the Kratky representation the scattering contribution due to the contrast scattering shows a plateau behavior up to q = 0.45 Å^?1, where q is magnitude of the scattering vector. This observation is in evident contrast to what is expected from the rotational isomeric state (RIS) model. In addition the characteristic ratios C_∞, derived either from the plateau height or from radii of gyration of the Zimm regime and being in reasonable agreement with each other, show strong deviations from the predictions of the RIS model. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

聚苯乙烯分子链构象与其薄膜的玻璃化转变行为

本文利用椭偏仪研究了成膜方式对不同分子量聚苯乙烯(PS)超薄膜玻璃化转变行为的影响.发现PS超薄膜的玻璃化转变温度(Tg)随着厚度降低的幅度与其成膜方式、分子量有关.当PS膜低于一定厚度时,旋涂法制备的PS膜的Tg比相同厚度浇铸法制备的膜低,且二者Tg差值随着厚度的降低而增大.这二种膜Tg的差值和Tg发生偏离时膜的临界厚度随聚苯乙烯分子量的增加而增加.利用非辐射能量转移荧光光谱证实成膜方式主要是影响PS分子链在膜中的构象.旋涂法制备的PS膜相对于本体在近表面区域分子链的形变更大.分子量愈大,分子运动时内摩擦阻力愈大,近表面区域分子的残余应力愈大.由于强运动能力的活性层(空气/PS界面)对PS薄膜Tg的影响占主导,相同厚度下分子链愈伸展,残余应力越大,PS薄膜的Tg越低,导致成膜方式与分子量的影响也愈大.     

Retention behaviour of polystyrene oligomers in reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) was employed to investigate the behaviour of low-molecular-mass polystyrene oligomers with three different end groups, n-butyl, sec-butyl, and tert.-butyl polystyrenes. Exothermodynamic retention studies on the polystyrene oligomers were carried out using a C18 stationary phase column and 100% methanol mobile phase over the temperature range 15 to 60 degrees C. The resulting van't Hoff plots were linear over the entire temperature range for all three end group polystyrenes. Enthalpy-entropy compensation (EEC) showed a linear compensation for the higher-order oligomers, but was non-linear for the lower-order oligomers, indicating a change in the mechanism of retention. Differences in the extent of retention for each of the three end groups were also apparent. The ramifications of these differences are discussed.     

Random chain scission of polystyrene in electron irradiated solution

Main-chain scission was the predominant effect when dilute solutions of three linear polystyrenes in 1-methylnaphthalene and polybenzyl oligomer received up to 2000 megaroentgen of 1.5-MeV electrons. Values of energy per scission were independent of dose and of the same magnitude as literature values in dioxane and benzene solutions when compared at the same dose rate. In all cases as irradiation progressed, M_w/M_n approached a value of 2 and M_z/M_w approached a value of 1.5 characteristic of a random distribution. Starting from one initial distribution, random numbers were used to simulate random chain scission. A 500 MR (megaroentgen) distribution calculated in this manner matched the experimental distribution after a 500 MR irradiation.     

Influence of intrachain hydrogen bonding on the cyclization of a polystyrene chain

Cyclization of a polystyrene chain (M_n = 10,600; M_w/M_n = 1.09) both ends labeled with 4-(1-pyrenyl)butanoamide groups was studied in cyclohexane between 25 and 95°C. The amide groups (peptide bonds) at both ends can form an intrachain hydrogen bond between the amide hydrogen at one chain end and the carbonyl oxygen at the other. The presence of two sets of conformers, random coils, and chains cyclized through hydrogen bonding, complicates the data analysis. The pyrene excimer kinetics of this polymer is well described by a model composed of two monomers (hydrogen bonded and nonbonded chains) and one excimer, in equilibrium. The cyclization rate constant for hydrogen-bonded chains is larger than the one for nonhydrogen-bonded chains. The pyrene excimer binding energy (ca. 1.6 kcal/mol) is lower than the published value for nonhydrogen-bonded chains (～ 9 kcal/mol), suggesting that intrachain hydrogen bonding hinders the stabilization of the excimer. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effects of gamma radiation on phase behaviour and critical micelle concentration of Triton X-100 aqueous solutions

Ionising radiation used for sterilization can have an effect on the physicochemical properties of pharmaceutically relevant excipient systems, affecting therefore the stability of the formulation. The effect of gamma irradiation on the phase behaviour (cloud point--CP) and critical micelle concentration (CMC) of aqueous solutions of Triton X-100, used as a model nonionic surfactant, is investigated in this paper. Micellar solutions were irradiated with gamma-rays in a dose range between 0 and 70 kGy, including the sterilization range of pharmaceutical preparations. The decreased observed in CP and CMC values of micellar solutions at all absorbed doses was explained in terms of changes in molecular mass distribution of ethoxylated surfactant and the formation of cross-linked species. These results were complemented by mass spectrometry, UV-vis and NMR spectroscopy. Although the findings indicate degradation of polyethoxylated chains by water radical attacks, there was no spectroscopic evidence of radiation damage to aromatic ring or hydrocarbon tail of surfactant. Models based on Flory-Huggins theory were employed to estimate CP from changes in mass distribution and to obtain cross-linking fractions. Surface tension measurements of non-irradiated and irradiated solutions were used for estimating the effectiveness and efficiency of surfactant in the formulation.