Dynamics of a poly(isoprene)/poly(vinyl ethylene) blend revisited: Component polymer relaxation and blend behavior

Determining the structural relaxation times deep in the glassy state of the pharmaceutical Telmisartan

By using the dielectric relaxation method proposed recently by Casalini and Roland (2009 Phys. Rev. Lett. 102 035701), we were able to determine the structural α-relaxation times deep in the glassy state of the pharmaceutical, Telmisartan. Normally, deep in the glassy state τ(α) is so long that it cannot be measured but τ(β), which is usually much shorter, can be directly determined. The method basically takes advantage of the connection between the α-relaxation and the secondary β-relaxation of the Johari-Goldstein kind, including a relation between their relaxation times τ(α) and τ(β), respectively. Thus, τ(α) of Telmisartan were determined by monitoring the change of the dielectric β-loss, ε'', with physical aging time at temperatures well below the vitrification temperature. The values of τ(α) were compared with those expected by the coupling model (CM). Unequivocal comparison cannot be made in the case of Telmisartan because its β-loss peak is extremely broad, and the CM predicts only an order of magnitude agreement between the primitive relaxation frequency and the β-peak frequency. We also made an attempt to analyze all isothermal and aging susceptibility data after transformation into the electric modulus representation. The τ(α) found in the glass state by using the method of Casalini and Roland in the modulus representation are similar to those obtained in the susceptibility representation. However, it is remarkable that the stretching parameter β(KWW - M) = 0.51 in the electric modulus representation gives more precise fits to the aging data than in the susceptibility representation with β(KWW) = 0.61. Our results suggest that the electric modulus representation may be useful as an alternative to analyze aging data, especially in the case of highly polar glassformers having a large ratio of low frequency and high frequency dielectric constants, such as the Telmisartan studied.

Consequence of excess configurational entropy on fragility: the case of a polymer-oligomer blend

By taking advantage of the molecular weight dependence of the glass transition of polymers and their ability to form perfectly miscible blends, we propose a way to modify the fragility of a system, from fragile to strong, keeping the same glass properties, i.e., vibrational density of states, mean-square displacement, and local structure. Both slow and fast dynamics are investigated by calorimetry and neutron scattering in an athermal polystyrene-oligomer blend, and compared to those of a pure 17-mer polystyrene considered to be a reference, of the same Tg. Whereas the blend and the pure 17-mer have the same heat capacity in the glass and in the liquid, their fragilities differ strongly. Thus, the difference in fragility is related to an extra configurational entropy created by the mixing process and acting at a scale much larger than the interchain distance, without affecting the fast dynamics and the structure of the glass.