Homopolymers studies

The materials analyzed were blends of polystyrene (PS) and poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) in various ratios. The two components are miscible in all proportions at ambient temperature. The photooxidation mechanisms of the homo-polymers PS and PVME have been studied previously [4,7,8]. PVME has been shown to be much more sensitive to oxidation than PS and the rate of photooxidation of PVME was found to be approximately 10 times higher than that of PS. The photoproducts formed were identified by spectroscopy combined with chemical and physical treatments. The rate of oxidation of each component in the blend has been compared with the oxidation rate of the homopolymers studied separately. Because photooxidative aging induces modifications of the surface aspect of the material, the spectroscopic analysis of the photochemical behavior of the blend has been completed by an analysis of the surface of the samples by atomic force microscopy (AFM). A tentative correlation between the evolution of the roughness measured by AFM and the chemical changes occurring in the PVME-PS samples throughout irradiation is presented. 

Probing polymer-polymer interactions in miscible blends is an experimentally difficult task. Most methods available for this purpose are elaborate and limited in their applicability. In recent years, research has shown that inverse gas chromatography (IGC) offers great promise for the study of polymer-polymer interactions. Conceptually, the technique involves the following the elution behavior of volatile organic compounds (probes) is measured for one or more blend columns and compared with the retention behavior of two homopolymers studied under identical conditions. An excess retention can then be characterized and treated as a measure of polymer-polymer interaction strength. This polymer-polymer interaction is the cause of the miscibility phenomenon and is of practical interest. 

The extent of dye binding to the three homopolymers studied at a constant ionic strength increases in the order PVI < MPVI < BPVI. The stronger affinity of BPVI for the dye molecule is attributed to the stronger intrinsic dye-site interaction between the aromatic groups of the dye and the polymer. Partially quaternized copolymers show less... 

Werner A, Sohmid F, Muller M and Binder K 1999 Intrinsio profiles and oapillary waves at homopolymer interfaoes a Monte Carlo Study Phys. Rev. E 59 728... 

Muller M and Sohiok M 1996 Bulk and interfaoial thermodynamios of a symmetrio, ternary homopolymer-oopolymer mixture a Monte Carlo study J. Chem. Phys. 105 8885... 

In tire simple version of tire lattice representation of proteins tire polypeptide chain is modelled as a sequence of connected beads. The beads are confined to tire sites of a suitable lattice. Most of tire studies have used tire cubic lattice. To satisfy tire excluded volume condition only one bead is allowed to occupy a lattice site. If all tire beads are identical we have a homopolymer model the characteristics of which on lattices have been extensively studied. 

Polymer Solutions. Perhaps the most extensively studied macromolecular Hquid crystals are the synthetic polypeptides, such as poly( y-benzyl L-glutamate) [25513-40-0] (PBLG). PBLG is a homopolymer of the L-enantiomorph of a single amino acid with the foUowiag repeat unit. 

Similarly, the random introduction by copolymerization of stericaHy incompatible repeating unit B into chains of crystalline A reduces the crystalline melting point and degree of crystallinity. If is reduced to T, crystals cannot form. Isotactic polypropylene and linear polyethylene homopolymers are each highly crystalline plastics. However, a random 65% ethylene—35% propylene copolymer of the two, poly(ethylene- (9-prop5lene) is a completely amorphous ethylene—propylene mbber (EPR). On the other hand, block copolymers of the two, poly(ethylene- -prop5iene) of the same overall composition, are highly crystalline. X-ray studies of these materials reveal both the polyethylene lattice and the isotactic polypropylene lattice, as the different blocks crystallize in thek own lattices. 

The earliest study describing vulcanised polymers of esters of acryUc acid was carried out in Germany by Rohm (2) before World War I. The first commercial acryUc elastomers were produced in the United States in the 1940s (3—5). They were homopolymers and copolymers of ethyl acrylate and other alkyl acrylates, with a preference for poly(ethyl acrylate) [9003-32-17, due to its superior balance of properties. The main drawback of these products was the vulcanisation. The fully saturated chemical stmcture of the polymeric backbone in fact is inactive toward the classical accelerators and curing systems. As a consequence they requited the use of aggressive and not versatile compounds such as strong bases, eg, sodium metasiUcate pentahydrate. To overcome this limitation, monomers containing a reactive moiety were incorporated in the polymer backbone by copolymerisation with the usual alkyl acrylates. 

The toughness of interfaces between immiscible amorphous polymers without any coupling agent has been the subject of a number of recent studies [15-18]. The width of a polymer/polymer interface is known to be controlled by the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter x between the two polymers. The value of x between a random copolymer and a homopolymer can be adjusted by changing the copolymer composition, so the main experimental protocol has been to measure the interface toughness between a copolymer and a homopolymer as a function of copolymer composition. In addition, the interface width has been measured by neutron reflection. Four different experimental systems have been used, all containing styrene. Schnell et al. studied PS joined to random copolymers of styrene with bromostyrene and styrene with paramethyl styrene [17,18]. Benkoski et al. joined polystyrene to a random copolymer of styrene with vinyl pyridine (PS/PS-r-PVP) [16], whilst Brown joined PMMA to a random copolymer of styrene with methacrylate (PMMA/PS-r-PMMA) [15]. The results of the latter study are shown in Fig. 9. 

More recently, the copolymerization of ethyl cyanoacrylate with other 1,1 disubstituted electron deficient monomers and the effect of the monomers on adhesive properties have been studied. Monomers, such as diethyl methylene-malonate (DEMM), 8, were prepared [6,7]. Their homopolymers and copolymers... 

The combined effects of a divalent Ca counterion and thermal treatment can be seen from studies of PMMA-based ionomers [16]. In thin films of Ca-salts of this ionomer cast from methylene chloride, and having an ion content of only 0.8 mol%, the only observed deformation was a series of long, localized crazes, similar to those seen in the PMMA homopolymer. When the ionomer samples were subject to an additional heat treatment (8 h at 100°C), the induced crazes were shorter in length and shear deformation zones were present. This behavior implies that the heat treatment enhanced the formation of ionic aggregates and increased the entanglement strand density. The deformation pattern attained is rather similar to that of Na salts having an ion content of about 6 mol% hence, substitution of divalent Ca for monovalent Na permits comparable deformation modes, including some shear, to be obtained at much lower ion contents. 

Another example of favorable synergistic effects in ionomer/homopolymer blends is evident from a study of the tensile properties of blends of an SPS ionomer with PS. Over most of the composition range these two polymers are incompatible. For small additions of the SPS ionomer to PS, TEM studies of cast thin films show that... 

Blending of ionomers with other homopolymers is also one means of enhancing mechanical performance. Frequently, in ionomer/polymer blends, synergistic effects are realized and properties may be significantly increased over anticipated values based on the rule of mixtures. This area of study has not been extensively explored and the probability clearly exists that new materials and new blends, having even a greater degree of property enhancement, will become available in the near future. 

It may not be appropriate to compare the thermal stability characteristics of VC/VAc copolymer to that of a VC homopolymer (PVC). The copolymerization would involve different kinetics and mechanism as compared to homopolymerization resulting structurally in quite different polymers. Hence, copolymerization of VC with VAc cannot be regarded as a substitution of chlorines in PVC by acetate groups. To eliminate the possibility of these differences Naqvi [45] substituted chlorines in PVC by acetate groups, using crown ethers (18-crown-6) to solubilize potassium acetate in organic solvents, and studied the thermal stability of the modified PVC. Following is the mechanism of the substitution reaction ... 

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