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.     

非晶固体高分子表面的低温流动特性

高分子低温加工是材料领域重大挑战。相较于本体分子,位于材料表面高分子链的玻璃化转变温度降低、黏度减小、塑性增强,为高分子材料低温加工提供了可能途径。本文总结了近年来对非晶固体高分子表面分子运动的研究成果,从表面分子动力学的角度阐述了高分子表面低温流动性的起源及其影响因素,举例介绍了表面低温流动特性在高分子材料低温粘结、自愈合以及加工成型等方面的应用,并对未来研究及前景进行了展望。希望通过本文加深对高分子表面低温流动行为的认识和理解,促进高分子材料加工和成型新方法和新概念的发展。     

Monte Carlo simulation studies of the interfaces between polymeric and other solids as models for fiber-matrix interactions in advanced composite materials

As a coarse-grained model for dense amorphous polymer systems interacting with solid walls (i.e., the fiber surface in a composite), the bond fluctuation model of flexible polymer chains confined between two repulsive surfaces is studied by extensive Monte Carlo simulations. Choosing a potential for the length of an effective bond that favors rather long bonds, the full temperature region from ordinary polymer melts down to the glass transition is accessible. It is shown that in the supercooled state near the glass transition an “interphase” forms near the walls, where the structure of the melt is influenced by the surface. This “interphase” already shows up in static properties, but also has an effect on monomer mobilities and the corresponding relaxation behavior of the polymer matrix. The thickness of the interphase is extracted from monomer density oscillations near the walls and is found to be strongly temperature dependent. It is ultimately larger than the gyration radius of the polymer chains. Effects of shear deformation on this model are simulated by choosing asymmetric jump rates near the moving wall (large jump rate in the direction of motion, and a small rate against it). It is studied how this dynamic perturbation propagates into the bulk of the polymer matrix.     

Local dynamics and glass transition

The dynamics of polymer chains in the bulk state are discussed at three different temperature scales: (i) Well above the glass transition temperature where the basic step of motion is the rotameric transition of bonds. In this regime, the dynamics may conveniently be analyzed by the rotational isomeric state model, (ii) In the vicinity of glass transition where friction forces from the environment dominate. In this regime, the dynamics may be modeled according to the cooperative kinematics model, (iii) Well below glass transition. Here, an analogy with a native protein is made, and the mean-squared fluctuations are analyzed by adopting the Gaussian Network Model, which recently proved successful in describing fluctuations in native proteins.     

Molecular motion of ends of isolated poly(isobutylene) chains tethered on the poly(tetrafluoroethylene) surface in vacuo

Poly(isobutylene) (PIB) chains with a radical at the chain end were graft-copolymerized on the poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) surface in vacuo at 77 K. The PIB chains tethered on the PTFE surface in vacuo were regarded as isolated chains from neighboring tethered PIB chains. The molecular motion of the ends of the isolated PIB chains was observed by an electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer in the temperature range from 3 to 125 K, which was lower than T_g of PIB, 200 K,¹ and two motion modes were found: One is a quantum tunneling of the methyl group located at the chain end at 3 K, and the other is an interconformation transition with freely rotating methyl group at the end at 77 K, where the transition rate was estimated to be 15 MHz at that temperature. The transition rate increased with an increase in temperature. The activation energy of the transition was estimated to be 370 J/mol. The high mobility and low activation energy was attributed to the isolation of PIB chains in vacuo. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 2095–2102, 1998     

SURFACE RHEOLOGY OF POLYMERIC SOLIDS

Surface molecular motions of amorphous polymeric solids have been directly measured on the basis of scanningviscoelasticity microscopic (SVM) and lateral force microscopic (LFM) measurements. SVM and LFM measurements werecarried out for films of conventional monodisperse polystyrene (PS) with sec-butyl and proton-terminated end groups atroom temperature. In the case of the number-average molecular weight, M_n, less than ca. 4.0×10~4, the surface was in a glass-rubber transition state even though the bulk glass transition temperature, T_g was far above room temperature, meaning thatthe surface molecular motion was fairly active compared with that in the bulk. LFM measurements of the, monodisperse PSfilms at various scanning rates and temperatures revealed that the time-temperature superposition was applicable to thesurface mechanical relaxation behavior and also that the surface glass transition temperature, T_g~σ, was depressed incomparison with the bulk one even though the magnitude of M_n was fairly high at 1.40×10~5. The surface molecular motionof monodisperse PS with various chain end groups was investigated on the basis of temperature-dependent scanningviscoelasticity microscopy (TDSVM). The T_g~σs for the PS films with M_n of 4.9×10~6 to 1.45×10~6 measured by TDSVMwere smaller than those for the bulk one, with corresponding M_ns, and the T_g~σs for M_ns smaller than ca. 4.0×10~4 were lowerthan room temperature (293 K). The active thermal molecular motion at the polymeric solid surface can be interpreted interms of an excess free volume near the surface region induced by the surface localization of chain end groups. In the case ofM_n=ca. 5.0×10~4, the T_g~σs for the α, ω-diamino-terminated PS (α,ω-PS(NH_2)_2) and α, ω-dicarboxy-terminated PS (α, ω-PS(COOH)_2) films were higher than that of the PS film. The change of T_g~σ for the PS film with various chain end groups canbe explained in terms of the depth distribution of chain end groups at the surface region depending on the relativehydrophobicity.     

Thermal analysis of PMMA/gel silica glass composites

Thermal analysis of poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA) impregnated porous gel silica glasses confirms that the PMMA chains form hydrogen bonds with the pore surface silanol groups. The adopted conditions for the insitu polymerisation result in about 4% of residual monomers trapped in the polymer, most of them in the amorphous structure. The polymer and monomer mixture takes up the whole of the free pore volume. Most of the residual monomer polymerises during the DSC scans above the glass transition temperature providing an excellent probe for the weak glass transition. Polymerisation in the gel silica glass medium affects the glass transition temperature, the length of polymer chains, and the degree of polymerisation.     

Surface mobility in monodisperse polystyrene films

Surface dynamics in monodisperse polystyrene films was examined by lateral force microscopy in conjunction with dynamic secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Glass transition temperature, T_g, at the surface was markedly lower than the corresponding bulk T_g. Also, it was shown that polymer chains present at the surface could diffuse even at a temperature below the bulk T_g. The surface depth, in which molecular motion was activated, was of the order of 5 nm.     

Anti-tack action of polyvinylpyrrolidone on hydroxypropylmethylcellulose solution

The anti-tack action of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) solution was elucidated using a probe test method. The influence of PVP of varying molecular weights at various PVP concentrations and solution temperatures on the tackiness of HPMC solution was studied. The viscosity, surface tension, cloud point and solution spectroscopy of HPMC solutions and glass transition temperature of HPMC films, with and without PVP, were investigated. The tackiness of HPMC solutions in response to the addition of PVP, at different concentrations of HPMC and using HPMC with varying contents of hydroxypropyl/methoxyl substitution, was also evaluated. PVP is a commonly used binder and adhesive. However, it reduced the tack of the HPMC solution when used at low concentrations, without affecting the state of hydration of HPMC. Lower molecular weight PVP was more effective as an anti-tack agent owing to suitable hydrodynamic size to intersperse among the HPMC chains. The degree of reduction in tack values was more pronounced for HPMC that showed a greater extent of interaction between polymer chains such as when high concentration of HPMC or low solution temperature was employed. This indicated that the tack reduction property of PVP relied on its ability to interact with the HPMC chains. The profile of reduction in tack values was affected by the contents of HPMC substitution and was a result of net reduction in the extent of hydrogen bonding between HPMC chains. It was significantly correlated to the changes of viscosity and surface tension of the HPMC solutions but not to the glass transition temperatures of the polymers prepared as solid films. The results suggested that the anti-tack action of PVP was attributed to its ability to interact with HPMC chains in the aqueous medium and consequently to reduce the extent of HPMC-HPMC bonding.     

聚(乙烯基对苯二甲酸二烷基酯)的非寻常相转变

以聚(乙烯基对苯二甲酸二烷基酯)(PDAVT)为对象,用热分析、X射线衍射、流变及固体核磁共振等方法考察了甲壳型液晶高分子中存在的"低温无序、高温有序"的非寻常相行为.实验证明,在升温过程中,烷基基团为丁基、己基和辛基的PDAVT(P4、P6和P8)可从无定形态发育出柱状(Col)液晶相,导致在高温区体系模量升高.降温时P6和P8可完全回到无定形态,表现出典型的"各向同性相重入"行为.PDAVT液晶相畴的生长具有一维生长的特点,是成核控制的,升高温度可加快Col相的形成.固体核磁共振实验表明,样品从无定形态转变为Col相的过程与侧链运动性的不断加强有密切关系.我们也初步探索了剪切场或拉伸场对液晶转变的影响,发现当温度不高时,剪切或拉伸既不改变液晶转变温度,也没有提高液晶态样品的液晶化程度.综合分析多方面的实验结果可以看出,PDAVT的非寻常相行为是熵主导的.侧链的加速运动会增强"甲壳效应",Col相是侧链熵最大化的结果.     

高分子链的去拥挤转变及低温流动

简述了拥挤理论的基本原理,运用拥挤理论来说明高分子链间弱相互作用对高分子链所处的状态的影响,特别是对高分子玻璃化转变的影响.在实验中,采用固体核磁共振方法探测高分子的链间邻近度,并比较了不同链间邻近度的高分子样品在玻璃化转变温度以下的压力诱导流行行为,发现即使测试温度比高分子玻璃化转变温度低132℃,高分子链在压力下依...     

Thickness dependence of free‐standing thin films

Below a critical thickness, of about 60 nm, the glass transition temperature of polystyrene (PS) films decreases with film thickness, as demonstrated using free‐standing films. A geometrical model is developed here describing this phenomenon in the case of ideal (Gaussian) chains. This model, which can be considered as an application of the free volume model, assumes that the decrease of the glass transition temperature from thick to ultrathin films is due to the modification of the interpenetration between neighboring chains. The theoretical curve deduced from the model is in excellent agreement with the PS experimental results, without using any adjustable parameters. From these results, it can be concluded that new chain motions, usually buried in bulk samples, are expressed by the presence of the surface. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 10–17, 2007     

Effect of the content of urea groups on the particle size in water-borne polyurethane or polyurethane/polyacrylate dispersions

A series of anionic water-borne polyurethane and polyurethane/polyacrylate dispersions and their paint films was prepared. It was found by using TEM that there were three phases in the polyurethane/polyacrylate film, i.e. the hard segment-rich phase and the soft segment-rich phase of polyurethane, and the polyacrylate phase. By increasing the content of urea groups, the glass transition temperature of the soft segments and the dissociation temperature of the long-distance ordering of the hard segments were raised. This should mean that the motion of macromolecular chains was hindered by increasing the content of urea groups, and the hydrophilic carboxyl groups embedded initially in macromolecular coils could thus not transfer easily to the particle surface, which resulted in a greater average particle size in the dispersion.     

A Sharp Thermal Transition of Fast Aromatic‐Ring Dynamics in Ubiquitin

Aromatic amino acid side chains have a rich role within proteins and are often central to their structure and function. Suitable isotopic‐labelling strategies enable studies of sub‐nanosecond aromatic‐ring dynamics using solution NMR relaxation methods. Surprisingly, it was found that the three aromatic side chains in human ubiquitin show a sharp thermal dynamical transition at approximately 312 K. Hydrostatic pressure has little effect on the low‐temperature behavior, but somewhat decreases the amplitude of motion in the high‐temperature regime. Therefore, below the transition temperature, ring motion is largely librational. Above this temperature, a complete ring‐rotation process that is fully consistent with a continuous diffusion not requiring the transient creation of a large activated free volume occurs. Molecular dynamics simulations qualitatively corroborate this view and reinforce the notion that the dynamical character of the protein interior has much more liquid‐alkane‐like properties than previously appreciated.     

Hydrogen bonding effects in the glassy state of random copolyamides

The thermal behavior of random copolyamides which are used as model polymers with hydrogen bonds has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), x-ray diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy. The quenched copolyamides have only halo patterns in their x-ray diffraction photographs. A random copolymer of nylons 6, 66, and 610 (in a composition ratio of 3: 4: 3) was found to have 20% of unbonded amide groups immediately after quenching. When the sample was kept at the glass transition temperature (20°C), no change in x-ray diffraction was observed after the treatment. The free amide band in the infrared spectrum at 3450 cm^-1, however, was decreased in intensity by keeping the sample at the glass transition temperature. The transition peak height observed in a DSC curve also increased in the same experiment. Large glass transition peaks were found in DSC curves after annealing of the random copolyamides in the vicinity of the glass transition temperature. It is probable that the free amide groups in the amorphous chains were rearranged and formed new hydrogen bonds during the heat treatment at the glass transition temperature. Packing and restriction of the amorphous chains due to the increase in hydrogen bonding seemed to increase the height of the transition peak in a DSC curve. It is inferred from the above results that in the case of the random copolyamide, structures corresponding to a given enthalpy of the glassy state can be related to the number of hydrogen bonds.     

Studies on surface molecular motion of oligomeric polystyrene by differential scanning calorimetry

There are many studies on the surface molecular motion of polymer films [ 1 ], but no report on surface thermal properties of polymer because of experimental difficulties. The thermal property of oligomeric polystyrene (PS) was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in the present study. In order to increase the ratio of surface area to volume of PS particles, the DSC samples were prepared by mechanically grinding mixtures of PS and Al₂O₃ powders. The grinding mixtures of these powders with low particle size showed a transition at a low temperature of 14–17 °C (much lower than the bulk glass transition temperature, T_g), and this low‐temperature transition was dependent on the size of PS particles. This transition seems to result from the surface molecular motion of the activated surface layer of PS. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and physical properties of polyurethanes from saccharide-based polycaprolactones

Polyurethane (PU) sheets were prepared from glucose-, fructose-and sucrose-based polycaprolactones (PCL). The obtained saccharide-based PCL's were characterized by gel permeation chromatography, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The glass transition temperature, thermal degradation temperature, tensile strength, elongation and Young's modulus of the PU sheets were measured. The obtained results suggest that the molecular motion of PU's is enhanced with increasing fraction of PCL chains in PU molecules, and that at the same time the saccharide components act as hard segments.     

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     

The influence of interphases on properties of epoxy resin composites

Water sorption was determined and dynamic-mechanical measurements made on dry and water-containing systems. Different types of surface treatments of the glass fiber were studied. Immobilization of polymer chains in the interphase is determined by the nature of the curing system, annealing conditions, and surface treatment of glass fibers. Penetrating water can be found at three kinds of locations in the composite; water in the interphase has different properties than water in the polymer matrix and in microvoids. This fact can be used as a microscopic probe in epoxy-containing composites. Water content depends on the density of polar groups and the density of the network. At higher temperatures water causes crazes, at lower it mainly acts as a plasticizer. Water in crazes does not affect the glass transition temperature Tg, but it decreases (tan δ) and weakens the material. As long as water mainly goes into swelling, energy transfer between the resin and the matrix is not affected. The reinforcement then works as it should. The results demonstrate the importance of interphase properties on the behavior of the composite.     

Characterization of the motion of spin probes and spin labels in amorphous polymers with two-dimensional field-step ELDOR

The motion of nitroxide spin probes and spin labels in amorphous polymers is studied below the glass transition temperature with a two-dimensional pulsed electron double-resonance experiment. Polystyrene and a liquid crystalline side group polymer are studied using both spin probes and spin labels covalently bound to specific sites along the polymer chain. Two methyl acrylic polymers differing only in their side group structure and polyvinylacetate are compared and large differences in the molecular dynamics deduced from both the nuclear and the electron spin relaxation rates are observed as the glass transition is approached. The results demonstrate the complexity of small amplitude motion in simple polymers below the glass transition temperature and show that it is very sensitive to the packing in the polymer. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.