The effect of syndiotacticity of the structure and properties of dehydrochlorinated poly(vinyl chloride) films

The dehydrochlorination of a syndiotacticity-enriched poly(vinyl chloride) (s-PVC) gave polyene materials and the structure and properties of dehydrochlorinated specimens were studied. The results were compared with those obtained for polyene materials formed from a commercial poly(vinyl chloride) (c-PVC). The crystallinity of the s-PVC was higher than that of the c-PVC as revealed by the infrared analysis and X-ray diffraction studies. The dehydrochlorinated specimens from the s-PVC were crystalline to some extent while those from the c-PVC were amorphous. The molecular orientation in the original films was preserved in the dehydrochlorinated specimens. The polyene films from the s-PVC had larger conductivities and showed better doping properties as compared with those from the c-PVC. These results were explained in terms of the larger crystallinity and the increased structural regularity of the s-PVC as compared with those of the c-PVC.