Chain conformation of rod-like polymers in the melt: Small-angle neutron scattering of poly(benzoyl paraphenylene)

✍ Scribed by Richard A. Vaia; Ramanan Krishnamoorti; Charles Benner; Mark Trimer

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 208 KB
• Volume: 36
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0887-6266
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0488(19980930)36:13<2449::aid-polb19>3.0.co;2-3

✦ Synopsis

The chain conformation of a rigid rod polymer, poly(benzoyl paraphenylene), is determined in the melt using small-angle neutron scattering. The coherent scattering cross-section from blends of partially deuterated and hydrogenous poly(benzoyl paraphenylene) agree well with ideal rod scattering for q Ͼ 0.02 Å Ϫ1 , indicating that the polymer chains are highly extended. Comparison of the results to a single chain-scattering function for chains of arbitrary stiffness yield a persistence length of ca. 130 Å. Pure component scattering at the lowest scattering lengths indicate that the melt is not molecularly homogenous, but is comprised of domains, potentially reflecting localized groupings of chains with similar backbone orientation. Furthermore, this mesoscopic structure depends on the processing history of the polymer in the melt state.