The study of polymers in geometrically confined states by the thermal analysis, the spectroscopic study, and the morphological investigation

This thesis focuses on the study of the different geometrically confined states of polyacrylamide (PAL) in bulk film, single chain globules, and thin films. The thermal analysis, the spectroscopic study, and the morphological investigation were carried out. The main contribution of this thesis is that we have acquired a better understanding about the glass transition (T g) behavior of polymers. Although the glass transition is a well known phenomenon for liquids with strong covalently bonded structures, and is especially noteworthy for amorphous polymers, understanding the glass transition still remains one of the most intriguing puzzles in condensed matter physics at present. The solution of the glass transition puzzle will ultimately influence different fields in polymer science, particularly biophysics and biochemistry. Our approach to this complicated assignment, the glass transition phenomenon, is to examine the glass transition behavior of polymer chains in 3 dimensional confinement for single molecular single chain globules, 1 dimensional confinement for polymer thin films, and 0 dimensional confinement for bulk state polymer. We found that the glass transition temperature of a polymer depends on several factors, such as the inter-chain interlock entanglement, the inter-chain molecular interactions, the intra-chain cohesional entanglement, and the local chain orientation and conformational entropy. These factors have been systematically investigated by carefully preparing the polymer samples in different confined states. The main conclusion is that, although the glass transition is a non-equilibrium dynamic property, the true glass transition can be reached when polymer chains are free of the inter-chain entanglement. A better example is illustrated, in this thesis, of the glass transition behavior for the well-annealed single chain globules.; PAL single chain globules are prepared by spray drying from the dilute solution. The size and morphology of the single chain globules are characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). DSC characterization reveals that the Tg of the single chain globules, upon annealing, is higher than that of the bulk film. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...