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The relaxation properties of polymethacrylates of the n-alkyl series with n = l, 2 and 4 (poly(methyl methacrylate) ( PMMA), poly(ethyl methacrylate) ( PEMA) and poly( n-butyl methacrylate) ( PnBMA)) have been measured and analyzed in order to relate their properties to the size of the lateral side chains. The n-alkyl series has been regarded as a model system and was used in this work to test a graphical data analysis method. Essentially, four relaxation processes were detected in the three polymers: the γ, β, α and αβ relaxations, in increasing order of temperature. It was found that the γ relaxation has a low activation energy, of around 36.3-38.5 kJ mol−1, independent of the side chain, exhibiting low entropy of activation values when referring to the Eyring description of the activation parameters. The β relaxation was found to be similar in PMMA and PEMA, showing an activation energy of 88.8 kJ mol−1, increasing to 112.8 kJ mol−1 in PnBMA. The activation entropy was also found to be low for this relaxation, although greater than that for the γ relaxation. In contrast, the α relaxation is quite different in these polymers. We observed a gradual shift in the glass transition temperature towards lower temperatures as the side chain increases in length. The manner in which the α transition makes its way into the dielectric spectra is more abrupt in PMMA than in PnBMA, denoting a higher fragility in the former polymer. Finally, there is a significant difference in the coalescence scenarios of the α and β relaxations for temperatures higher than the glass transition temperature, where they give rise to the so-called αβ relaxation. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Barium zinc borosilicate glasses with a molar composition x BaO-(60− x) ZnO-30 B2 O3-10 SiO2, where x ranged from 0 to 60 mol%, were prepared using melt-quenching method. The effect of BaO substitution for ZnO on the sintering, crystallization, and dielectric characteristics has been investigated. The behavior of the studied barium zinc borosilicate glasses was mainly determined by the relative amount of the structural modifier oxides ( BaO and ZnO) and the ionic size, and field strength of the modifying cations ( Ba2+, Zn2+). Increased amounts of BaO decreased both glass transition temperature and crystallization temperature, while increasing the relative dielectric constant. Sintering occurred before crystallization for glasses where substitution of BaO for ZnO was up to 30 mol%, but for higher substitution levels, crystallization occurred during the sintering process hindering densification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]