Random-coil configurations of aromatic polyesters: Stress-optical behavior of poly(diethylene glycol terephthalate)

The stress-optical behaviour of an elastomeric network of poly(diethylene glycol terephthalate) (PDET) was measured over a wide range of elongation ratios α (up to 5) and temperatures (293-353K). No evidence of strain -induced crystallization was found;on the contrary, the plot of birefringence versus stress exhibits negative deviations from linearity at values of α over 2.6. Values of the optical configuration parameter Δα of the order of 20 × 10^?24cm³ with relative temperature coefficients of -1.1 × 10^?3K^?1 were found for the unswollen sample. The introduction of tricresylphosphate as diluent roughly doubles the birefringence of the network, presumably because of an increase in intermolecular interactions. Theoretical calculations carried out with the RIS model give values of Δα about one order of magnitude smaller than the experimental ones and temperature coefficients of about 4.1 × 10^?3K^?1. No reasonable modification of conformational energies or contributions to the anisotropic part of the polarizability tensor would achieve agreement between theory and experiments. The discrepancy between theoretical and experimental results may be qualitatively explained by intermolecular interactions.