Dynamic mechanical thermal and infrared analyses of polyacrylonitrile ?electrografted? onto a metal

Abstract

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) films have been “grafted” onto copper electrodes by cathodic polarization and analyzed by infrared spectroscopy and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The dynamic mechanical response shows two or three transitions depending on the film thickness and the potential deposition. The viscoelastic properties of “ungrafted” PAN films, e.g., solvent cast films of commercially available PAN, are deeply different from those of “electrografted” films. The experimental data support that “ungrafted” chains are paracrystalline in contrast to the “grafted” ones which are essentially amorphous. Moreover, the irreversible transformation of the “grafted” PAN chains observed beyond 225°C is confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis and ascribed to an intramolecular cyclization of PAN into polyimine. This reaction occurs rapidly and at a comparatively low temperature with respect to “ungrafted” PAN, which suggests that the “grafted” chain configuration might be predominantly isotactic. The isotacticity and the amorphous structure appear to decrease as the thickness of the PAN film is increased. Literature data and the herein reported observations would suggest a dependence of the amorphous structure of PAN on the chain isotacticity. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 543–553, 1998