Energetics of low-molecular-mass products of mechanical fracture of poly(methyl methacrylate)

It is experimentally revealed that monomer and water molecules released during the fracture of PMMA have a bimodal velocity distribution. The first distribution peak for the monomer corresponds to energetic (hot) MMA molecules (0.13–0.70 eV), and the second peak is attributed to MMA molecules bearing a low energy (0.016–0.060 eV). On the basis of the results of earlier theoretical studies of the mechanically induced polymer-chain scission, it was concluded that the energetic monomer molecules are produced immediately in the event of mechanical chain rupture and are nonthermal in nature. In the bimodal velocity distribution of occluded water molecules desorbed from a subsonic crack, the first and the second peaks are attributed to “hot” and “cold” molecules with translational temperatures of 605 ± 180 K and 53 ± 5 K, respectively. A possible mechanism of the mechanically induced desorption of occluded water is discussed. The mechanodesorption of water molecules is due to the portion of vibrational energy transferred to side methyl carboxylate groups that retain water molecules by the unloading-wave front traveling along the main chain from a macromolecule scission site. Along with hot water molecules, a considerable amount of hot free hydroxyls were detected. The mechanism of formation of the latter species is associated with the double-well structure of the hydrogen bond potential and similar to the mechanism of mechanodesorption of hot molecules of water.