Characterization of microvoids in glassy polymers by means of 129Xe NAM spectroscopy

Xe-129 NMR chemical shift of Xe-129 sorbed in glassy polymers has been studied in connection A with Xe sorption property. Poly(2,6-dimethyl,1-1,4-phenylene oxide), polystyrene, Bisphenol A polycarbonate, and tetraniethyl-Bisphenol A polycarbonate have been used as glassy polymers. Xe sorption isotherms of glassy polymers have been successfully interpreted by the dual-mode sorption model. Xe-129 NMR chemical shifts of Xe-129 in glassy polymers have shown non-linear low-field shift against sorption amount of Xe. From the Xe density dependence of the Xe-129 NMR chemical shift, it has been able to evaluate mean size of microvoids in glassy polymer, These findings suggest that the Xe-129 NMR spectroscopy is a good tool for characterizing microvoids in glassy polymers.