Multiscale Relaxation Behavior of Amorphous Plasticized Poly(vinyl butyral)

As a key component in laminated glass, plasticized polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayer is a kind of impact-resistant polymer material with high toughness. Recently, by using ultrasmall angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) technique, Stretch-induced phase-separated structure on the scale of hundreds of nanometers formed in plasticized PVB for the first time is reported. In this work, the multiscale relaxation behavior of plasticized PVB is further investigated. The relaxation behavior of deformed plasticized PVB is studied from macroscopic stress, mesoscopic phase-separated structure, and microscopic chain segment by combining USAXS, and birefringence with in situ stretching device. The contributions of chain segments and hydrogen bonding clusters for the multiscale relaxation behavior are discussed.

Automated summary

This paper reports the formation of stretch-induced phase-separated structure on the scale of hundreds of nanometers in plasticized polyvinyl butyral (PVB) observed for the first time using ultrasmall angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) technique. The multiscale relaxation behavior of deformed plasticized PVB is further investigated by combining USAXS, birefringence, and in situ stretching device, studying the macroscopic stress, mesoscopic phase-separated structure, and microscopic chain segment. The contributions of chain segments and hydrogen bonding clusters for the multiscale relaxation behavior are discussed.