Characterization of the layered structure in main chain dibenzo-18-crown-6 ether polymers by simultaneous WAXS/MAXS-SAXS/DSC measurements

Nogales, A., Rueda, D.R., Sanz, A., Garcia-Gutierrez, M.C., Ezquerra, T.A., Zolotukhin, M.G., Hernandez, M.D.G., Fomine, S. and Colquhoun, H.M. (2007) Characterization of the layered structure in main chain dibenzo-18-crown-6 ether polymers by simultaneous WAXS/MAXS-SAXS/DSC measurements. Macromolecules, 40 (9). pp. 3355-3360. ISSN 0024-9297 doi: 10.1021/ma0701336

Abstract/Summary

The structure and thermal properties of polymers containing dibenzo-18-crown-6 ether units in the main chain linked to an aliphatic spacer of different lengths (C10-C14) is reported. X-ray diffraction patterns of all the studied samples exhibit a peak in the medium angle region, revealing the existence of a lamellar structure. Simultaneous calorimetry and small, medium (SAXS-MAXS) and wide (WAXS) X-ray measurements during cooling and subsequent heating of the samples reveal that a layer phase is formed upon cooling. In the case of the homopolymers, this phase is almost simultaneously accompanied by the appearance of some reflections in the wide angle region as an indication of lateral crystallization. However, by copolymerization, the formation of the layer phase is decoupled from lateral crystallization, being stable in a wide temperature region.