Dielectric relaxation studies of poly(propylene glycol) confined in vermiculite clay

The molecular dynamics of oligomeric poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) liquids (M(w)=1200, 2000 and 4000 g/mol) confined in a two-dimensional layer-structured Na-vermiculite clay has been studied by broadband dielectric spectroscopy. In addition to the alpha-relaxation, the normal mode relaxation process was studied for all samples both in bulk and confinement. For the normal mode process the relaxation rate in the clay is drastically shifted to lower frequencies compared to that of the bulk material in contrast to the alpha-process whose relaxation time is only slightly affected by the confinement. Also the temperature dependence of the relaxation time for the normal mode process is strongly affected by the confinement. Moreover, in the clay the intensity of the normal mode is stronger than that of the alpha-process, in contrast to the bulk samples where the opposite is observed.