Monika Makrocka-Rydzyk

Molecular dynamics in polyethylene and ethylene-1-butene copolymer investigated by NMR methods

H and 13 C NMR spectra and 1 H spin-lattice relaxation times T1 and T1q have been employed to study the structure and molecular dynamics in polyethylene and ethylene-1-butene copolymer in the temperature range from 100 to 370 K. Results are interpreted in terms of a, b and c -relaxation, as well as methyl group rotation. The activation energies for all motions were established. The incorporation of 1-butene into ethylene chain leads to an increase of mobility in amorphous and crystalline phases as well as appearance the 13 C resonance characteristic to the monoclinic structure in addition to the orthorhombic observed in both polymers. The crystallinity degree derived from T1q in studied polymers is close to that determined using DSC method. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular Dynamics Study of Polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) Asymmetric Diblock Copolymer Systems

Two polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PS-b-PEO) diblock copolymers differing in molecular mass (49 and 78 kDa) but possessing the same PEO cylindrical morphology are examined to elucidate their molecular dynamics. Of particular interest here is the molecular motion of the PEO blocks involved in the rigid amorphous fraction (RAF). An analysis of complementary thermal calorimetry and X-ray scattering data confirms the presence of microphase-separated morphology as well as semicrystalline structure in each copolymer. Molecular motion within the copolymer systems is monitored by dielectric and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies. The results reported herein reveal the existence of two local Arrhenius-type processes attributed to the noncooperative local motion of PEO segments involved in fully amorphous and rigid amorphous PEO microphases. In both systems, two structural relaxations governed by glass-transition phenomena are identified and assigned to cooperative segmental motion in the fully amorphous phase (the α process) and the RAF (the αc process). We measure the temperature dependence of the dynamics associated with all of the processes mentioned above and propose that these local processes are associated with corresponding cooperative segmental motion in both copolymer systems. In marked contrast to the thermal activation of the α process as discerned in both copolymers, the αc process appears to be a sensitive probe of the copolymer nanostructure. That is, the copolymer with shorter PEO blocks exhibits more highly restricted cooperative dynamics of PEO segments in the RAF, which can be explained in terms of the greater constraint imposed by the glassy PS matrix on the PEO blocks comprising smaller cylindrical microdomains.

Local motions in poly(ethylene-co-norbornene) studied by 1H NMR relaxometry

Molecular motions in poly(ethylene-co-norbornene) were studied in a temperature range well below its glass transition point by a few techniques based on the NMR phenomenon. Temperature dependencies of proton spin-lattice relaxation times T1 (at 200 MHz and at 30.2 MHz), proton spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating frame T1ρ (at 68 kHz) and frequency dispersion of proton spin-lattice off-resonance relaxation times in the rotating frame T1ρ(off) were determined for the copolymer. Analysis of (1)H NMR relaxation data permitted characterization of local motions occurring in the copolymer i.e. rotation of methyl groups around C3 axes, reorientations of methylene groups and motions of segments of polymer chains including norbornene groups.

Morphology and NMR Self-Diffusion in PBA/PEO Miktoarm Star Copolymers

Abstract Morphology and NMR self-diffusion of two miktoarm star copolymers differing in fraction of poly(n-butyl acrylate) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PBA and PEO) arms were under investigation. Structural characteristics of copolymers was obtained on the basis of Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) investigations. The phase separated nanoscale morphology of the miktoarm star copolymer with a high fraction of PEO arms was confirmed by Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) studies. The modified Avrami approach was used to obtain the information on the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of the studied systems. It was observed that the crystallization in the system with a higher content of PBA, occurring at higher undercooling, was characterized by a higher crystallization rate. It was also found that increase in PBA arms fraction leads to the reduction in the size of PEO domains. The activation energy of the crystallization process, estimated with Kissingers method, is lower for miktoarm star copolymer with higher PBA content, which results from facilitation of the transport of PEO chains in the direction of the growing crystal due to the presence of mobile PBA arms. The self-diffusion studies of miktoarm star copolymers melts, carried out with the Pulsed-Gradient STimulated-Echo (PGSTE) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technique, reveals the existence of at least two types of diffusion mechanisms in these systems.