Effect of hydrogen bonds on the amorphous phase of a polymer as determined by atomistic molecular modelling

摘要

Molecular simulations of poly(vinyl phenol) were performed to study the effect of hydrogen bonds. Three conformations were constructed and their structure was validated in terms of the solubility parameter and gyration radius. Amorphousness was confirmed by calculating the X-ray pattern and pair correlation function. Isotropy of the structure was verified using the bond-orientational correlation function for backbone, phenyl rings, and O-H groups forming hydrogen bonds. Glass transition temperature was calculated using a stepwise change on temperature at constant pressure. The values were found to be comparable to experimental data and were consistent with poly(styrene) simulations published in the literature. The percentage of hydrogen bonds found in the model, 63%, was in good agreement with previous semi-quantitative evaluation by FTIR spectroscopy.