The first part of this research concerns gelation in reversible gels. On the basis of calorimetric, viscometric, and spectroscopic results, a novel mechanism of gelation is described. It is proposed that the formation of the gel network leads to an increase in entropy which is sufficient to overcome the unfavorable gelation enthalpy. Gelation is, therefore, said to be entropy driven. The role of the solvent in the gelation process is also discussed. / The second part of the research is a study of spherulitic growth rate in blends of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and a compatibilizer. Using time-lapse photomicroscopy it was found that addition of small amount of compatibilizer can enhance the growth rate of iPP. Similar results were obtained with chemically modified compatibilizers. The enhancement is explained in terms of partial miscibility between iPP and compatibilizers. A mathematical model of the kinetics of spherulitic growth rate in partially miscible blends is described.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.74574 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | St-Jean, Guylaine |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Chemistry.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001171717, proquestno: AAINN66505, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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