EFFECT OF MELT-STATE CURING ON THE VISCOELASTIC PROPERTIES OF POLY(PHENYLENE SULFIDE)

Low molecular weight, low viscosity poly (phenylene sulfide) (PPS) has been cured in the melt state to examine effects of curing time and te mperature on the melt-state dynamic viscoelastic behavior. It was foun d that the Newtonian behavior of the uncured material could largely be retained if melt cure temperatures are properly controlled. This resu lt is in contrast to solid-state curing, where the Newtonian nature of the resin is reduced, presumably due to increased branching and cross -linking as molecular weight builds. The current result indicates that melt-state curing may provide a high molecular weight PPS resin with a predominantly linear molecular architecture.