The degree of structural order in polymers have been issue of importance in that it widely influences macroscopic properties. Highly-ordered structures of amorphous polymers have not yet been fully elucidated and their conventional preparation costs significant time and energy. In this study, we firstly report preparation of hyper-strained poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) crystals (isotactic, syndiotactic and atactic PMMA) by fast quenching from molten solutions together with entropy diluents. Large birefringence and the first order transition were observed by optical and thermal analysis. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies also support highly oriented crystals of PMMA. Molecular dynamics simulation and small angle X-ray scattering showed unprecedented extended conformation of polymer chains in the solution. The extended chains were kinetically trapped in metastable ordered state during rapid solidification. Our study opens new possibilities for controlling structural order of polymer as well as understanding thermodynamics of polymer solution in detail.<br/>

Hyper-strained PMMA crystals by fast quenching with entropy diluents

2019 Spring National Meeting

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