Virginie M. Boucher

T g depression and invariant segmental dynamics in polystyrene thin films

We investigate the segmental dynamics and glass transition temperature (Tg) of polystyrene (PS) thin films. The former is investigated by alternating current (AC) calorimetry and dielectric spectroscopy (BDS). The Tg, underlying the equilibrium to out-of-equilibrium crossover from the supercooled liquid to the glass, is obtained by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and capacitive dilatometry (CD). We show that the intrinsic molecular dynamics of PS are independent of the film thickness both for the freestanding and supported films, whereas Tg decreases with film thickness from several microns down to 15 nm. This result is found for complementary methods and in a simultaneous measurement in BDS and CD. This questions the widespread notion that segmental mobility and the equilibrium to out-of-equilibrium transition are, under any experimental conditions, fully interrelated. For thin films, it appears that the molecular mobility and Tg are affected differently by geometrical factors.

Physical aging in polymers and polymer nanocomposites: recent results and open questions

Physical aging is a ubiquitous phenomenon in glassy materials and originates from the fact that they are generally out-of-equilibrium. Due to the technological and fundamental implications, this phenomenon has been deeply investigated in the last decades especially in glassy polymers. Here we provide a critical review of the latest hot debated themes in the field of physical aging in polymers and polymer nanocomposites. We first summarize the fundamental aspects of physical aging, highlighting its relationship with the polymer segmental mobility. A review of the methods employed to monitor physical aging is also provided, in particular those probing the time dependent evolution of thermodynamic variables (or related to) and those probing the (quasi)instantaneous polymer segmental mobility. We subsequently focus our attention on the two following debated topics in the field of physical aging of polymers: (i) the fate of the dynamics and thermodynamics of glassy polymers below the glass transition temperature (Tg), i.e. the temperature below which physical aging occurs; (ii) the modification of physical aging induced by the presence of inorganic nanofillers in polymer nanocomposites. With respect to the former point particular attention is devoted to recent findings concerning possible deviations from the behavior normally observed above Tg of both dynamics and thermodynamics deep in the glassy state. Regarding the effect of the presence of nanofillers on the rate of physical aging, the role of the modification of the polymer segmental mobility and that of purely geometric factors are discussed with particular emphasis on the most recent advances in the topic. The modification of the rate of physical aging in other nanostructured systems, such as polymer thin films, is discussed with particular emphasis on the analogy in terms of a large amount of interface with polymer nanocomposites.

Physical aging of polystyrene/gold nanocomposites and its relation to the calorimetric Tg depression

The aim of this work is to study the effect of gold nanoparticles on the segmental dynamics, glass transition (Tg) and physical aging of polystyrene (PS). To do so, PS/gold nanocomposite samples containing 5 and 15 wt% of 60 nm spherical gold nanoparticles, surface-treated with thiolated-PS, were prepared. The segmental dynamics of PS, as measured by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS), was found to be unchanged in the presence of gold nanoparticles. Conversely, the calorimetric Tg of PS was shown to decrease with increasing the amount of gold nanoparticles in the samples. Furthermore, by measuring the amount of recovered enthalpy of PS—by means of DSC—after annealing at temperatures below Tg for various aging times, the physical aging was shown to speed up with increasing the nanoparticles weight fraction, i.e. the amount of PS/gold interface in the hybrid material. Thus, the main conclusion of our work is that PS molecular mobility and the out-of-equilibrium dynamics are markedly decoupled in these nanocomposites. The significant effect of the amount of PS/gold interface on both the physical aging rate of PS and the depression of the calorimetric Tg in the presence of nanoparticles is quantitatively accounted for by a model based on the diffusion of free volume holes towards polymer interfaces, with a diffusion coefficient depending only on the molecular mobility.

Accelerated physical aging in PMMA/silica nanocomposites

We have monitored the physical aging process below the glass transition temperature (Tg) of poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA/silica nanocomposites by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS). To do so, we have followed the evolution with time of the dielectric strength of the PMMA secondary relaxation process that dominates the dielectric response overall below Tg. The employed silica particles are spherical and present a diameter of several hundred nanometres. We have investigated polymer nanocomposites with silica concentration of about 10% wt. This results in an interparticle distance of the order of several hundred nanometers. Despite the general similarity between the segmental dynamics of the nanocomposites and that of pure PMMA as evidenced by both differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and BDS experiments, the former systems display markedly accelerated physical aging in comparison to the pure polymer. This striking result suggests that the relevant length scale of the system under investigation plays a crucial role in affecting the mechanism of the physical aging process. As a natural consequence of such evidence, the diffusion of free volume holes—annihilating at the “external surface” of the polymer being aged—has been invoked to explain the strong mismatch between the physical aging in the nanocomposite and that of pure PMMA. Such an interpretation is discussed in light of the recent results on physical aging of polymer nanocomposites.

Complex nonequilibrium dynamics of stacked polystyrene films deep in the glassy state

We investigate the kinetics of enthalpy recovery in stacked glassy polystyrene (PS) films with thickness from 30 to 95 nm over a wide temperature range below the glass transition temperature (Tg). We show that the time evolution toward equilibrium exhibits two mechanisms of recovery, in ways analogous to bulk PS. The fast mechanism, allowing partial enthalpy recovery toward equilibrium, displays Arrhenius temperature dependence with low activation energy, whereas the slow mechanism follows pronounced super-Arrhenius temperature dependence. In comparison to bulk PS, the time scales of the two mechanisms of recovery are considerably shorter and decreasing with the film thickness. Scaling of the equilibration times at various thicknesses indicates that the fast mechanism of recovery is compatible with the free volume holes diffusion model. Conversely, the slow mechanism of recovery appears to be accelerated with decreasing thickness more than predicted by the model and, therefore, its description requires additional ingredients. The implications, from both a fundamental and technological viewpoint, of the ability of thin polymer films to densify in relatively short time scales are discussed.

Effect of silica particles concentration on the physical aging of PMMA/silica nanocomposites

We have monitored the physical aging of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/silica nanocomposites, namely the slow evolution occurring to the structure of glasses below the glass transition temperature (Tg), following the time evolution of the enthalpy as measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). We have systematically varied the concentration of silica to provide insight about the influence of the ratio area of silica/volume of PMMA (Asil/VPMMA) on the physical aging process. Our results clearly indicate that physical aging speeds up with increasing silica concentration. Furthermore, the amount of recovered enthalpy decreases with increasing silica concentration, indicating that part of the enthalpy is recovered during the delay time before the first data are collected.