Filtern
Dokumenttyp
- Zeitschriftenartikel (2) (entfernen)
Sprache
- Englisch (2)
Referierte Publikation
- ja (2)
Schlagworte
- Dielectric relaxation (2) (entfernen)
Artificial weathering of LDPE under dry conditions (<10% of relative humidity) by UV radiation was monitored
by dielectric spectroscopy. For an apolar polymer like LDPE, dielectric study yields information
about the change in structure and dynamics of the system. The fluctuations of the polar groups which
are generated as a result of photooxidation such as carbonyl groups can be monitored as characteristic
relaxation processes like the αc or β mode. The dielectric loss characterized by typical dielectric parameters
like the activation energy and dielectric strength are strongly dependent upon changes induced
by photooxidation in the amorphous and crystalline domains. This paper discusses in detail how the foil
reached its mechanical disintegration. It was found that initial stages of weathering induce chain scission
and/or crosslinking in the amorphous domains of the polymer and the motional processes in the crystalline
regions are not affected. After this induction period, an increase in the degree of crystallization was
observed by employing differential calorimetry. The increasing crystallinity is considered as one of the
reasons for embrittlement which finally leads to the complete loss of the structural integrity.
The dynamic glass transition (α relaxation, structural relaxation) of ultrathin polysulfone films prepared between aluminum electrodes is investigated by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. As a main result, it is found that the glass transition temperature Tg does not depend on the thickness of the polymeric layer down to a thickness of 10 nm. For thicknesses lower than 10 nm, an increase of Tg is observed. A more detailed analysis of the temperature dependence of the relaxation rates reveals that the Vogel temperature increases and the fragility decreases systematically with decreasing film thickness d. Further, the dielectric strength Δε decreases with decreasing d. This is discussed by the formation of a surface layer of adsorbed polysulfone segments having a reduced molecular mobility with regard to the time scale characteristic of the glassy dynamics of bulk polysulfone. Plotted versus inverse film thickness Δε decreases linearly with 1/d and becomes zero for an extrapolated length scale of 10 nm. From that it is concluded that the thickness of the adsorbed boundary layer is about 5 nm. Contact-angle measurements were carried out to confirm the strong interaction between aluminum and polysulfone. It is also shown that preparation details like annealing conditions strongly influence the glass transition of supported ultrathin films.