AN NMR INVESTIGATION OF STRUCTURE AND MOTION IN HYDRATED-ALPHA,OMEGA-DICARBOXYLATOPOLYBUTADIENE

N.m.r. analysis of the hydration and temperature behaviour of resolved carboxyl carbon resonances in the acid and neutralized alpha,omega-di carboxylatopolybutadiene telechelics reveal a complex interaction betw een water and chain end groups participating in the formation and subs equent stability of crosslinks. A multiplicity of environments are det ected above the glass transition of the host polymer matrix arising fr om chemical and physical inequivalences. Reasonable interpretations ar e advanced to account for the observed carboxyl peaks. Analysis of the temperature dependence of C-13 linewidths offers further insight into the manner in which end groups influence overall motion in the polyme r. Extraction of meaningful activation energies from C-13 linewidth da ta, however, must take correlation frequency distributions into accoun t. The anomalous behaviour of water and its influence on structure and motion is explored.