DYNAMICS OF LIGHTLY SULFONATED POLYSTYRENE IONOMERS

The tracer diffusion coefficients of both ion-containing polymer chain s and their associated counterions were measured in lightly sulfonated ionomers as a function of temperature, ion content, and chain length. The data are shown to be in good agreement with relaxation times deri ved from viscoelastic measurements at high temperatures. The results a re interpreted in terms of a reptation model, modified to account for the additional constraints on individual chain motion imposed by the a ssociating ion pairs. [S0031-9007(98)07469-9].