Macromolecules, Vol.33, No.6, 2049-2054, 2000
Light-scattering study of thermoreversible aggregates from chemically modified PVCs: Outcomes for the gel state
Suspensions in diethyl oxalate (DEO) of aggregates of chemically modified poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), where a few chlorine atoms are replaced by benzenethiolate groups, have been studied by light scattering. The scattering pattern of the suspensions display a maximum whose intensity decreases while its position, q(m), remains virtually constant as a function of the degree of modification. Diluting further the suspensions with DEO entails a shift of q(max) toward lower q-values. As has been recently shown with normal PVC, this maximum arises from a liquidlike order between aggregates. At high dilution the weight-average molecular weight and the z-average radius of gyration can be measured. It is found that both parameters decrease with increasing the fraction of benzenethiolate groups, unlike what has been observed with another type of chemical modification (chlorine replaced by hydrogen). These results are interpreted by considering fibrillar aggregates, and the outcomes for the gel state, in particular for its elastic modulus, are discussed.
Keywords:PHYSICAL GELS;POLY(VINYL CHLORIDE);MOLECULAR-STRUCTURE;NEUTRON-SCATTERING;DILUTE-SOLUTIONS;VINYL-CHLORIDE;POLYVINYL-CHLORIDE);SUBSTITUTION;TRANSITION