Morphology of ionic aggregates in carboxylato- and sulfonato-telechelic polyisoprenes as investigated by small-angle x-ray scattering

Twenty seven samples of carboxylato- and sulfonato-telechelic polyisoprenes associated with various cations (Na, K, Rb, Cs, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba) have been investigated by small-angle X-ray scattering. The Bragg spacing characteristic of the ionic peak is directly proportional to the root-mean-square end-to-end distance (rrms) of the polyisoprene chain. In the series of sulfonato-telechelic polyisoprenes, the Bragg spacing is approximately equal to rrms, whereas in the series of carboxylato-telechelic polyisoprenes it amounts to 21/2 rrms. It also appears that the ionic aggregates are more likely distributed according to a planar hexagonal network. An original method has been used for the tail-end analysis of the SAXS profile, which is based on the general vertex contribution to the Kirste−Porod law. It results that the ionic aggregates are of an angulous shape. Four different functions have been used to account for the interphase profile between the ionic phase and the polymeric matrix. The ionic aggregates would accordingly contain an average of 10 alkali-metal cations with a tetrahedral stacking, whereas six alkaline-earth-metal cations would be organized according to an equilateral prism. The oxygen atoms of the anionic groups mainly contribute to the width of the interface. The additional peaks observed in the upturn of the curve at very low angles are the signature of a superstructure similar to that one previously observed for carboxylato-telechelic poly(tert-butyl acrylate)s.