DYNAMIC MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF POLY(MONOCYCLOHEXYL ITACONATE)

Abstract

Accurate dynamic mechanical measurements were performed on poly(monocyclohexyl itaconate) at different frequencies over a wide temperature range. Three main relaxations could be observed at different temperatures, which were labelled as gamma, beta and alpha-relaxations. The gamma-relaxation was attributed to the motions of the cyclohexyl group, specifically to the chair-chair flipping of the ring; and the beta-relaxation to the rotation of the side carboxylic groups. In order to analyse alpha-relaxation a mechanical model was used which considered an isotropic continuum containing spherical isotropic non-interacting particles. Qualitative validity of this hypothesis was found and the results were consistent with the dielectric data obtained for the same polymer.