Hydrodynamic and electrooptical properties of fullerene-containing poly(ethylene oxides) in benzene

C-60 Composites with poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(ethylene glycol) in which C-60 occurs in the bound state were prepared by the thermal treatment of a molecular-dispersed fullerene C-60-polymer mixture at temperatures that are 30-60 degreesC higher than the melting temperature of the polymers. PEO-C-60 composites with different molecular masses and preset contents of C-60 combine hydrophilicity of the polymer and hydrophobicity of C-60. The hydrodynamic and electrooptical properties of the composites in benzene solution significantly differ from those of the starting PEO samples subjected to the same treatment procedure. The experimental results obtained are compared with the data available for other polymers and are explained by a change in the mechanism of thermal degradation of macromolecules in the presence of C-60 dispersed in a polymer matrix.