[Formation of stereocomplexes in atactic poly(methyl methacrylate) studied by FTIR]

The stereocomplexation of atactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (a-PMMA) films after isolated from acetone, benzene, and chloroform solution, respectively, was studied by Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR). The results of spectra showed that the stereocomplex was formed for the films cast from acetone and benzene solutions with the appearance of the characteristic bands for the stereocomplex. The population of trans-trans conformers for the i- and s-sequences increased and the side chain preferred to its energetically optimized conformation during the formation of stereocomplex. The stereocomplexes may be formed by the interactions between the i- and s-sequences in the same molecular chain. During the annealing process the self-aggregation of s-sequences played a role in the aggregation process of stereocomplex, which was a function of annealing temperature and annealing time.