Thermoreversible gelation of poly(vinylidene fluoride) in phthalates: the influence of aliphatic chain length of solvents

Yadav, PJ; Ghosh, G; Maiti, B; Aswal, VK; Goyal, PS; Maiti, P

HERO ID

1315336

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

2008

Language

English

PMID

18366217

HERO ID 1315336
In Press No
Year 2008
Title Thermoreversible gelation of poly(vinylidene fluoride) in phthalates: the influence of aliphatic chain length of solvents
Authors Yadav, PJ; Ghosh, G; Maiti, B; Aswal, VK; Goyal, PS; Maiti, P
Journal Journal of Physical Chemistry B
Volume 112
Issue 15
Page Numbers 4594-4603
Abstract Thermoreversible gelation of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) has been studied in a new series of solvents (phthalates), for example, dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and dihexyl phthalate (DHP) as a function of temperature and polymer concentration, both by test tube tilting and dynamic light scattering (DLS) method. The effect of aliphatic chain length (n) of diesters on the gelation kinetics, structure/microstructure and morphology of PVDF gels has been examined. Gelation rate was found to increase with increasing aliphatic chain length of diester. DLS results indicate that the sol-gel transformation proceeds via two-steps: first, microgel domains were formed, and then the infinite three-dimensional (3D) network is established by connecting microgels through polymer chains. The crystallites are responsible for 3D network for gelation in phthalates, and alpha-polymorph is formed during gelation producing higher amount of crystallinity with increasing aliphatic chain length of diester. Morphology of the networks of dried gels in different phthalates showed that fibril thickness and lateral dimensions decrease with higher homologues of phthalates. The scattering intensity is fitted with Debye-Bueche model in small-angle neutron scattering and suggested that both the correlation length and interlamellar spacing increases with n. A model has been proposed, based on electronic structure calculations, to explain the conformation of PVDF chain in presence of various phthalates and their complexes, which offer the cause of higher gelation rate for longer aliphatic chain length.
Doi 10.1021/jp800001t
Pmid 18366217
Wosid WOS:000254883500018
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Comments Source: Web of Science WOS:000254883500018Scopus URL: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-45549085152&doi=10.1021%2fjp800001t&partnerID=40&md5=49aedce6e1bd392a67da30475442459c
Is Public Yes
Language Text English