EFFECT OF CHAIN-LENGTH ON THE NETWORK MODULUS AND ENTANGLEMENT

The viscoelasticity of a series of monodisperse molten polystyrenes was investigated over a wide molecular weight range (9200 to 756 300). The plateau modulus was determined as the value of G' at the minimum of tan-delta in the rubbery zone, because this point defines a gel-like viscoelastic behaviour. A possible dependence of the entanglement density on chain length was explored, as a recent model predicts such an effect. The experimental indication is that the onset of the entanglement network occurs rather abruptly around M(e) and that the entanglement density is constant for M > M(e).