Shear damping function measurements for branched polymers

We present results for step‐strain experiments and the resulting damping functions of polyethylene blends of different structures, including solutions of linear, star and comb polymers. Remarkably, an entangled melt of combs exhibits a damping function close to that for entangled linear chains. Diluting the combs with faster‐relaxing material leads to a more nearly constant damping function. We find similar behavior for blends of commercial low density polyethylene LDPE. Our results suggest a simple picture: on timescales relevant to typical damping‐function experiments, the rheologically active portions of our PE combs as well as commercial LDPE are essentially chain backbones. When strongly entangled, these exhibit the Doi‐Edwards damping function; when diluted, the damping function tends toward the result for unentangled chains described by the Rouse model – namely, no damping. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 3117–3136, 2007