Compound formation and solvent (dis)ordering in syndiotactic polystyrene/benzylmethacrylate systems

In-situ small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS) experiments combined with Raman spectroscopy have been performed to study the phase behaviour of syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) and benzylmethacrylate (BzMA). In the quenched gels, sPS adopts a helical conformation which is stabilised by the solvent molecules, in fact compound formation occurs. From the combined experimental data it was concluded that two different structural modifications exist within the solvent-included helical δ-phase, respectively the δ′ phase in which the solvent molecules are intercalated and ordered between the phenyl rings of sPS and a δ″ phase where this solvent ordering is lost.