Comparison of polarized fluorescence with polarized raman and infrared dichroism measures of orientation in uniaxially drawn poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Abstract

AbstractIn a number of previous papers the results of studies of molecular orientation in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) by means of refractive index measurements and infrared, Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy have been presented. The present paper attempts to correlate the results of these studies and, in particular, to explain the observation that the fluorescent molecules appear to be more highly oriented than the polymer chains. Of the two explanations considered, that which assumes that the fluorescent molecules align themselves preferentially parallel to those segments of polymer chain in which the glycol residues are in the trans conformation is the more successful. It is also shown that the development of orientation in PET can be described well in terms of a simple modification of the rubber‐network model even for large deformations.