The Effect of Filler-Polymer Interactions on Cold-Crystallization Kinetics in Crosslinked, Silica Filled PDMS/PDPS Copolymer Melts.
Crystallization in a series of variable crosslink density poly(dimethyl-diphenyl) siloxanes random block copolymers reinforced through a mixture of precipitated and fumed silica fillers has been studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The silicone composite studied was composed of 94.6 mol% Dimethoylsiloxane, 5.1 mol% diphenylsiloxane, and 0.3 mol% methyl-vinyl siloxane (which formed crosslinking after a peroxide cure). The polymer was filled with a mixture of 21.6 wt. % fumed silica and 4.0 wt. % precipitated silica previously treated with 6.8 wt. % ethoxy-endblocked siloxane processing aid. The base composite was characterized by a molecular weight between crosslinks in the polymer network of {approx}24 kDa and an overall molecular weight (including the influence of the silica fillers) between crosslinks of {approx}11 kDa. Molecular weight between crosslinks and filler-polymer interaction strength were then modified by exposure to {gamma}-irradiation in either air or vacuum. The unirradiated material exhibited crystallization at -80 C as measured by DSC with a 16% crystallization as measured by XRD. Isothermal DMA experiments illustrated that crystallization at -85 C occurred over a 1.8 hour period in silica-filled systems and 2.2-2.6 hours in unfilled systems. The onset of crystallization typically occurred after a 30-minute incubation/nucleation period. The crystallization kinetics were dependent on crosslink density. Changes in molecular weight of a factor of two did not, however, change the amount of crystallization. Irradiation in vacuum resulted in faster overall crystallization rates compared to air irradiation for the same crosslink density, likely due to a reduction in the interaction between the polymer chains and the silica filler surface. Modulated differential scanning calorimetry contrasted the crystallization and melting behavior of pure PDMS versus the PDMS/PDPS base copolymer and helped determine which component of the composite was the origin of the crystallization phenomena.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 897925
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JRNL-220857; TRN: US200706%%128
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Polymer Science, Part B: Polymer Physics, vol. 44, no. 13, July 1, 2006, pp. 1898-1906, Journal Name: Journal of Polymer Science, Part B: Polymer Physics, vol. 44, no. 13, July 1, 2006, pp. 1898-1906
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
CALORIMETRY
COPOLYMERS
CRYSTALLIZATION
FILLERS
IRRADIATION
KINETICS
MELTING
MIXTURES
MOLECULAR WEIGHT
ORIGIN
PEROXIDES
POLYMERS
PROCESSING
SILICA
SILICONES
SILOXANES
X-RAY DIFFRACTION