Glass transition temperature Johari-Goldstein secondary relaxation

Abstract The present study demonstrates, by means of broadband dielectric measurements, that the primary a- and the secondary Johari-Goldstein (JG) /3-processes are strongly correlated, in contrast with the widespread opinion of statistical independence of these processes. This occurs for different glassforming systems, over a wide temperature and pressure range. In fact, we found that the ratio of the a- and P- relaxation times is invariant when calculated at different combinations of P and T that maintain either the primary or the JG relaxation times constant. The a-P interdependence is quantitatively confirmed by the clear dynamic scenario of two master curves (one for a-, one for P-relaxation) obtained when different isothermal and isobaric data are plotted together versus the reduced variable Tg(P)/T, where Tg is the glass transition temperature. Additionally, the a-P mutual dependence is confirmed by the overall superposition of spectra measured at different T-P combinations but with an invariant a-relaxation time. 

At frequencies faster than for segmental relaxation, or at temperatures below Tg, secondary relaxation process can be observed, especially in dielectric spectra. In polymers, many of these secondary processes involve motion of pendant groups. However, the slowest secondary relaxation, referred to as the Johari-Goldstein process (Ngai and Paluch, 2004), involves all atoms in the repeat unit (or the entire molecule for low M-u, materials). This process is referred to as the Johari-Goldstein relaxation, and it serves as the precursor to the prominent glass transition. 

Although glass transition is conventionally defined by the thermodynamics and kinetic properties of the structural a-relaxation, a fundamental role is played by its precursor, the Johari-Goldstein (JG) secondary relaxation. The JG relaxation time, xjg, like the dispersion of the a-relaxation, is invariant to changes in the temperature and pressure combinations while keeping xa constant in the equilibrium liquid state of a glass-former. For any fixed xa, the ratio, T/G/Ta, is exclusively determined by the dispersion of the a-relaxation or by the fractional exponent, 1 — n, of the Kohlrausch function that fits the dispersion. There is remarkable similarity in properties between the JG relaxation time and the a-relaxation time. Conventional theories and models of glass transition do not account for these nontrivial connections between the JG relaxation and the a-relaxation. For completeness, these theories and models have to be extended to address the JG relaxation and its remarkable properties. 

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