Dielectric and NMR studies of the structure and dynamics of semicrystalline poly(ethylene oxide)

Both dielectric and NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy are used to probe the molecular dynamics of poly(ethylene oxide). An attempt is made to extend the understanding of molecular dynamics by using two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and dielectric spectroscopy on carefully purified samples. NMR shows multiexponential behavior for the singularities that represent immobile material. This complex relaxation behavior demonstrates that there are two classes of immobile material, a crystalline phase and a rigid amorphous phase comprising 20% of the sample. Quenching experiments show that rapid cooling increases the fraction of mobile amorphous phase while the rigid amorphous phase fraction stays constant