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Assignment 5

Uploaded by

maroof akhtar
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© © All Rights Reserved
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MM 453 - Engineering Polymers & Composites

Assignment 5
1. Arrange the following materials in the likely order of their increasing crystalline
melting points and justify your answer. Assume that the polymers' degree of
polymerization (n) is the same.

2. Which polymer in each of the following pairs will have a higher glass transition
temperature (Tg)? Explain your reasoning.
a. Poly(2-chloroethyl methacrylate) vs. poly(n-propyl methacrylate)
b. Poly(n-butyl methacrylate) vs. poly(2-methoxyethyl methacrylate)

3. There is a class of polyesters with the general structure:

For example, in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), ( m = 1 ). How would you expect


the glass transition temperature (Tg) and crystalline melting temperature (Tm) of
these polymers to vary with (m), assuming the molecular weight of the chain is held
constant? Provide reasons for your answer. Additionally, if you consider one member
of this class of polymers, such as PET, how does the Tg vary with molecular weight
(n)?

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MM 453 - Engineering Polymers & Composites
Assignment 5
4. Explain the following phenomena:

a. Why does adhesive tape lose its stickiness when dipped into liquid nitrogen?
b. Why does a hollow rubber ball break into pieces when cooled in liquid nitrogen
and thrown hard against a wall?
c. Why does a dinner bell coated with latex paint make a louder noise when kept in a
freezer than at room temperature?
d. Why can molding or extrusion of plastics too close to their glass transition
temperature (Tg) result in material stiffening?
e. Why is a semicrystalline polymer's glass transition temperature (Tg) often higher
than that of the same polymer in a completely amorphous state?
f. Why does emulsion polymerization of styrene, often carried out at 80°C, not
proceed to 100% conversion?
g. Why do creases in nylon shirts straighten out by themselves when washed and
hung up to drip-dry?
h. Why does a postage stamp coated with linear poly(vinyl alcohol) adhesive need to
be moistened with water (or saliva) before applying?
i. Why must an amorphous polymer be below its glass transition temperature (Tg) at
ambient temperature to be useful as a plastic, while crystalline polymers can be useful
either above or below their Tg?
j. You are using flexible PVC tubing in your laboratory to run water from the tap to
keep your reaction vessel cool. One day, your lab partner mistakenly runs an organic
solvent through this tubing. As a result, the tubing becomes stiff and cracks.
k. Both wax and polyethylene are chemically described as polymethylene and
represented by –(-CH2-)n—. However, wax is a brittle solid, while polyethylene is a
tough plastic.

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