Polymer sample, composition

Howardt describes a model system used to test the molecular weight distribution of a condensation polymer The polymer sample was an acetic acid-stabilized equilibrium nylon-6,6. Analysis showed it to have the following end group composition (in equivalents per 10 g) acetyl = 28.9,... 

In a molded polymer blend, the surface morphology results from variations in composition between the surface and the bulk. Static SIMS was used to semiquan-titatively provide information on the surface chemistry on a polycarbonate (PC)/polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) blend. Samples of pure PC, pure PBT, and PC/PBT blends of known composition were prepared and analyzed using static SIMS. Fn ment peaks characteristic of the PC and PBT materials were identified. By measuring the SIMS intensities of these characteristic peaks from the PC/PBT blends, a typical working curve between secondary ion intensity and polymer blend composition was determined. A static SIMS analysis of the extruded surface of a blended polymer was performed. The peak intensities could then be compared with the known samples in the working curve to provide information about the relative amounts of PC and PBT on the actual surface. 

MFI of the composition to that of the matrix, as a function of the filler concentration. It can be seen that, as the concentration of a particular filler increases, the index increases too for one matrix but decreases for another, and varies by a curve with an extremum for a third one. Even for one and the same polymerfiller system and a fixed concentration of filler, the stress-strain characteristics, such as ultimate stress, may, depending on the testing conditions (temperature, rate of deformation, etc.) be either higher or lower than in the reference polymer sample [36],... 

The calibration technique used in conventional SEC does not always give the correct MWD, however. The molecular size of a dissolved polymer depends on its molecular weight, chemical composition, molecular structure, and experimental parameters such as solvent, temperature, and pressure ( ). If the polymer sample and calibration standards differ in chemical composition, the two materials probably will feature unequal molecular size/weight relationships. Such differences also will persist between branched and linear polymers of identical chemical composition. Consequently, assumption of the same molecular weight/V relation for dissimilar calibrant and sample leads to transformation of the sample chromatogram to an apparent MWD. 

We have recently initiated our investigation of blends by examining the compatibility between our modified polymer sample 4 and poly(methyl methacrylate). Mixtures with a composition of between 10% and 30% of sample 4 yield compatible blends which are transparent under a polarized light microscope, and are characterized by a single Tg. Mixtures richer than 60% of 4 undergo complete phase separation. 

The above phenomenon is due to the pronounced polydispersity of these products in their chemical size l described by the Flory exponential distribution. Because the composition of each macromolecule of the sample under investigation is unambiguously related to its degree of polymerization l, the Flory distribution for l in a polymer sample is responsible for its significant composition inhomogeneity. 

Studies were performed to demonstrate the effects of process variables such as light intensity, cure time, initiator concentration, and fiber loading on the evolution of the mechanical properties of the polymers and composites. Even with moderate incident light intensities (less than 500 mW/cm2) and high fiber loadings (60 wt.% random fibers) the photopolymerizations proceed to completion in minutes and exhibit mechanical properties equivalent to samples prepared by traditional... 

An associated technique which links thermal properties with mechanical ones is dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). In this, a bar of the sample is typically fixed into a frame by clamping at both ends. It is then oscillated by means of a ceramic shaft applied at the centre. The resonant frequency and the mechanical damping exhibited by the sample are sensitive measurements of the mechanical properties of a polymer which can be made over a wide range of temperatures. The effects of compositional changes and methods of preparation can be directly assessed. DMA is assuming a position of major importance in the study of the physico-chemical properties of polymers and composites. 

Next, consider a polymer sample which is heterodisperse both in molecular weight and composition. In the limit of vanishing concentration. Equation 1 gives, for independent scatterers, i ... 

Then the content of the syringe was dispensed in a strip on a glass slide and a doctor blade was used to spread the solution in the orthogonal direction. The phase behavior of the blend can be determined directly by visual inspection of the sample (Fig. 2, right). Similarly, it was also possible to create gradients in both polymer blend composition and film thickness by accelerating the movement of the doctor blade when spreading the blend solution [8]. 

One approach to preparing polymer samples for a combinatorial study could involve using conventional laboratory synthesis methods to prepare the desired polymers one at a time. There are many studies reported in the literature where a series of polymers having some systematic variation in composition or other property were prepared and characterized. However, this approach has limitations in time and resources and becomes unattractive when the synthesis of large numbers of polymers is required. 

The unconventional applications of SEC usually produce estimated values of various characteristics, which are valuable for further analyses. These embrace assessment of theta conditions for given polymer (mixed solvent-eluent composition and temperature Section 16.2.2), second virial coefficients A2 [109], coefficients of preferential solvation of macromolecules in mixed solvents (eluents) [40], as well as estimation of pore size distribution within porous bodies (inverse SEC) [136-140] and rates of diffusion of macromolecules within porous bodies. Some semiquantitative information on polymer samples can be obtained from the SEC results indirectly, for example, the assessment of the polymer stereoregularity from the stability of macromolecular aggregates (PVC [140]), of the segment lengths in polymer crystallites after their controlled partial degradation [141], and of the enthalpic interactions between unlike polymers in solution (in eluent) [142], as well as between polymer and column packing [123,143]. 

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