Investigations of the high-frequency dynamic properties of polymeric systems with quartz crystal resonators
Kenneth R. Shull, Meredith Taghon, Qifeng Wang
Abstract
Opportunities arising from the use of the rheometric quartz crystal microbalance (RheoQCM) as a fixed frequency rheometer operating at 15 MHz are discussed. The technique requires the use of films in a specified thickness range that depends on the mechanical properties of the material of interest. A regime map quantifying the appropriate thicknesses is developed, based on the properties of a highly crosslinked epoxy sample that is representative of a broad class of polymeric materials. Relative errors in the measured film properties are typically in the range of several percent or less and are minimized by using a power law model to relate the rheological properties at two different resonant harmonics of the quartz crystal. Application of the RheoQCM technique is illustrated by measuring the temperature- and molecular weight-dependent properties of polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) in the vicinity of the glass transition.