Conformational changes and molecular motion of poly(ethylene terephthalate) annealed above glass transition temperature

Conformational conversion and molecular dynamics of the amorphous poly(ethy lene terephthalate) (PET) annealed above T-g were investigated by C-13 high -resolution solid-state NMR and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Ra pid increase in the PET trans content and crystallinity were observed near the onset crystallization temperature (congruent to 120 degrees C). By comp aring both changes in conformation and crystallinity during thermal anneali ng, we found that the trans conformer increases continuously while the degr ee of crystallinity levels off during the later stage of annealing. The H-1 spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating frame (T-1 rho(H)) correlates linearly with PET crystallinity but less well with the trans content. A th ree-domain model containing crystalline (all trans), constrained noncrystal line (trans rich) and amorphous (gauche rich) phases satisfactorily explain s the relationship among the PET conformation, crystallinity and annealing conditions. This study complements the prior study of molecular motion by T -1 rho(C), and illustrates the importance of the trans conformer to induce PET crystallization. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.