Effect of Temperature on Thermal Transport and Mechanical Properties of Trans-polyisoprene

Thick and thin films of trans-polyisoprene (TPI) have been prepared using solution casting method by dissolving TPI in toluene. Thick films of TPI have been used to determine thermal transport properties at different temperatures through Thermal Constant Analyzer (TCA). The results show that thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and volumetric heat capacity increase with respect to temperature. Thin films of TPI on the other hand have been utilized for the measurement of mechanical properties such as Young's modulus, tensile strength and toughness. The effect of temperature on the mechanical properties of thin films of TPI has been investigated using Dynamic Mechanical analyzer (DMA) and it was found that the mechanical properties decrease with increasing temperature. Above said behavior of the thermal transport and mechanical properties as a function of temperatures is attributed to the increase in free volume of molecules in chains with temperature.