Solution properties of polymethyl acrylate I. Properties of PMA chain by viscometric method

Fundamental properties of polymethyl acrylate solutions were examined: the reasonable Houwink–Mark–Sakurada relations and the theta temperature (θ) were determined to be 5 °C in toluene. Further, the measurements of intrinsic viscosity for polymethyl acrylate solutions as a function of temperature yielded a thermal transition due to a conformation change at 56 ± 1 °C, irrespective of molecular weight and solvent. An application of the two-parameter theory to such a transition gave a stepwise change of the short-range interaction: K×102=9.5 below 50 °C and 10.3 above 60 °C. This conformation transition is explained on the basis of the steric hindrance of the planar substituent to the main chain above 60 °C.