X-Ray Investigation of the Amorphous State of Rubber

Abstract

Abstract The x-ray diffraction pattern of amorphous rubber, which is an amorphous ring, resembles the pattern of low-molecular liquids. In our previous work, it was established that the diffraction pattern observed is due to the coherent scattering of only those segments of the molecular chains in which the aggregation is analogous to that of low-molecular liquids, and is determined by the presence of a pseudo-order. A large part of the links of the molecular chains, owing to the prevailing disorder, scatters the x-rays incoherently, like scattering by a gas. For one component of amorphous rubber, the concept of “liquid phase” was introduced, and, for the other, that of “gaseous phase”, thereby subdividing them according to the type of scattering of x-rays. Amorphous rubber, according to our data, contains a large number of chair segments which are characterized by a high degree of disorder. The presence of such a disordered molecular phase is a general and characteristic property of high-molecular substances, and is caused by natural obstacles in the dense packing of the large molecules. This characteristic of molecular aggregation is undoubtedly reflected in the physical-mechanical properties of polymers.