Alternating crystalline lamellar structures from thermodynamically miscible poly(ε-caprolactone) H/D blends

Journal Article · Tue May 21 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Polymer

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2019.05.055· OSTI ID:1530188

Li, Lengwan  ^[1]; Arras, Matthias M. L. ^[2]; Li, Tianyu ^[3]; Li, Wei ^[4]; Chang, Dongsook ^[4]; Keum, Jong K. ^[5]; Bonnesen, Peter V. ^[6]; Qian, Shuo  ^[2]; Peng, Xiangfang ^[7]; Lee, Byeongdu  ^[8]; Hong, Kunlun ^[3]

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1. South China Univ. of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou (China); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Science (CNMS); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Neutron Scattering Division
3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Science (CNMS); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Science (CNMS)
5. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Science (CNMS), and Neutron Scattering Division
6. Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Science (CNMS)
7. South China Univ. of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou (China)
8. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Thermodynamic interaction and non-isothermal crystallization behavior in a series of protiated (H-) and deuterated (D-) poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) blends have been systematically investigated. The blends were thermodynamically miscible in the melt. The Flory–Huggins interaction parameter (χ) between H- and D-PCL segments was estimated. The hydroxyl groups in the PCL chain-ends were found to contribute significantly to the negative χ values. Combined characterization of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) revealed that upon slow cooling, unique alternating H-rich and D-rich PCL lamellar structures are formed regardless of the blend ratio, which is attributed to the Tc difference between H- and D-PCLs. While upon rapid cooling, mixed crystals of H- and D-PCLs are predominantly formed. These results provide insightful information on the melt thermodynamics as well as detailed chain arrangements in lamellar crystals for semi-crystalline H/D polyester blends.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357; AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1530188
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1550762; OSTI ID: 1703300
• Journal Information: Polymer, Vol. 175, Issue C; ISSN 0032-3861
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Co-crystallization
Deuterated poly(epsilon-caprolactone)
Small-angle neutron scattering