Effect of hydrogen bonding on the physicochemical and rheological features of chemically modified phenoxy

Selective reduction of hydrogen bonds of a phenoxy resin gave samples particularly suitable to investigate specific interactions in associative polymers. The glass transition temperature decreased when reducing hydrogen bonds, but dielectric results indicated that α and β relaxations are rather affected by steric hindrances (bulky groups). A model accounting for the combined effect of entanglements and secondary interactions on viscosity, which can be generalised for other associative polymers, is proposed and hydrogen bonds/entanglements rate is determined. Dynamic viscoelastic results at T = 170 °C and T - T = 80 °C, showed that hydrogen bonds did not constitute a network and were weakened by temperature. The non-linear viscoelastic parameter Q decreased as the amount of hydrogen bonds was reduced. LAOS (Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear) experiments constitute a new rheological tool to investigate associative polymers. Strain hardening in extensional flow was probed to be a consequence of the long relaxation times associated to hydrogen bonds and obtained from viscoelastic data.The authors are grateful to the financial support from the Basque Government (GIC IT-618-13 and GIC IT-586-13). L. Sangroniz and A. Sangroniz thank the Spanish Ministry (FPU) and Basque Government, respectively, for their PhD grantsPeer Reviewe