STUDY OF POLYSTYRENE POLYETHYLENE IPN SYSTEM BY THE SPIN-PROBE METHOD

The spin probe method has been used to study the structure and molecul ar mobility of PS-PE IPN with various ratios of PS : PE. The dependenc e of the correlation times of motion of the spin probe and the linewid ths of the EPR spectra on the composition of the IPN system and its th ermal processing has been studied. The results imply that rotation cor relation time of the probe is highest at the ratio PS : PE 1.5 : 0.5 a nd lowest at the ratio 0.75 : 1.25. The value of tau decreases with de creasing content of PS. At the transition from the ratio PS : PE 1.25 : 0.75 to 1 : 1 tau decreases sharply to a value close to the correlat ion time of PE. In the temperature range 173-373 K there are two domai ns which differ in molecular mobility. At temperatures above T(m) of P E, heterogeneity is observed for samples with ratio of PE 1 or 0.75. A nnealing at 473 K makes the samples homogeneous, which means that mixi ng of the chains of both polymers is observed in the interpenetrating regions.