Dynamics of a poly(ethylene oxide) tracer in a poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix: remarkable decoupling of local and global motions.

The tracer diffusion coefficient of unentangled poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO, M=1000 gmol) in a matrix of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA, M=10 000 gmol) has been measured over a temperature range from 125 to 220 degrees C with forced Rayleigh scattering. The dynamic viscosities of blends of two different high molecular weight PEO tracers (M=440 000 and 900 000 gmol) in the same PMMA matrix were also measured at temperatures ranging from 160 to 220 degrees C; failure of time-temperature superposition was observed for these systems. The monomeric friction factors for the PEO tracers were extracted from the diffusion coefficients and the rheological relaxation times using the Rouse model. The friction factors determined by diffusion and rheology were in good agreement, even though the molecular weights of the tracers differed by about three orders of magnitude. The PEO monomeric friction factors were compared with literature data for PEO segmental relaxation times measured directly with NMR. The monomeric friction factors of the PEO tracer in the PMMA matrix were found to be from two to six orders of magnitude greater than anticipated based on direct measurements of segmental dynamics. Additionally, the PEO tracer terminal dynamics are a much stronger function of temperature than the corresponding PEO segmental dynamics. These results indicate that the fastest PEO Rouse mode, inferred from diffusion and rheology, is completely separated from the bond reorientation of PEO detected by NMR. This result is unlike other blend systems in which global and local motions have been compared.