The relation between the permeability coefficients of some gases and the internal fine structure of polyester films has been studied on samples of the films stretched uniaxially under constant width. The permeability coefficients of He, 0
2 and N
2 for variously stretched films were determined by an apparatus based on the low vacuum method. The internal fine structure of the films was discussed from the wide angle X-ray diffraction pattern, dynamic moduli determined in the stretched and the transversal directions and some other physical properties.
The permeability coefficients,
Pa, of the amorphous region of the polymer were calculated for the gases based on the structural model described in a previous paper. The coefficients for O
2 and N
2 decreased monotonically with increasing stretching ratio, but the coefficient for He showed a maximum at a low stretching ratio.
The variations of
Pa with stretching ratio were explained in illustrated terms of the number of possible conformations of chain molecules in the amorphous region of the uniaxially stretched polymer.
The relations between
Pa and the dynamic modulus of the film showed some deviation from those found for other films. However the relation for the dynamic modulus in transversal direction to stretching showed a trend concomitant with other films below
Tg of the films. The permeability coefficients at a given dynamic modulus increased with increasing the stretching ratio of the film.
In summary, the permeability coefficients for O
2 and N
2 were strongly affected by the number of possible conformations of the chain molecule in the amorphous region of the polymer. However, the effect to He was not so evident probably because of the contribution of some other mechanisms to the permeation.
For the uniaxially stretched polyester films, little correlation was found between the segmental motion of the chain molecule that contributes to the mechanical properties and the motion that contributes to the permeation of gases.
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