NEW-TPI THERMOPLASTIC POLYIMIDE - STRUCTURE AND RELAXATION USING SAXSAND TSDC

The thermoplastic polyimide Regulus(TM) NEW-TPI has been studied using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and thermally stimulated depolari zation current (TSDC). SAXS was used to study the development of lamel lar structure during isothermal or nonisothermal crystallization. The one-dimensional electron-density correlation function was used to dete rmine structural parameters. The long period, lamellar thickness, and amorphous layer thickness increase as crystallization temperature incr eases from 300 to 360 degrees C. By combining melting-point data with SAXS results, we report the side and fold surface free energies of NEW -TPI crystals, which are 29 +/- 3 and 41 +/- 3 erg/cm(2), respectively . Real-time SAXS was carried during nonisothermal cold-crystallization at 5 degrees C/min. The long period decreases, while lamellar thickne ss, linear crystallinity, and interphase thickness increase, with incr easing temperature. These changes are explained by a crystal-insertion model. TSDC was used as a more sensitive probe of the amorphous phase structure below 300 degrees C. Both semicrystalline and amorphous NEW -TPI exhibit complex TSDC behavior. Above the glass transition, amorph ous NEW-TPI has a strong TSDC peak attributed to short-range-ordered s tructures, which may serve as nucleation sites for subsequent crystall ization. This peak was not seen in semicrystalline material. At the gl ass transition, both amorphous and semicrystalline NEW-TPI have a stro ng TSDC peak. In the semicrystalline polymer, relaxation of the amorph ous dipoles is slightly restricted by the crystals, which results in a smaller relaxation peak and a shift to higher temperature. Below T-g, another TSDC peak occurs which is not due to dipolar relaxation. This peak is attributed to the combined effects of space charge, electrode type, ionizable species, and interfacial charges. (C) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.