Equilibrium heat capacity of the glass-forming poly(α-methyl styrene) far below the Kauzmann temperature: The case of the missing glass transition

Abstract

The absolute specific heat capacity of poly(α-methyl styrene) and mixtures with its pentamer were found to be independent of concentration at temperatures from 240 to 480 K. Extrapolation to 100% polymer yielded the equilibrium specific heat capacity for the polymer at temperatures as much as 180 K below the glass temperature or 130 K below the Kauzmann temperature. We find no evidence of a second order transition or a smeared transition in the equilibrium heat capacity, the entropy, the excess configurational entropy or the enthalpy over the entire range of temperatures investigated. The observations indicate that the Kauzmann paradox must be resolved without invoking a thermodynamic glass transition.