Modeling the effect of crosslinking in methyl-pendant poly(p-phenylene benzobisthiazole)

Abstract

Molecular mechanics and dynamics simulations have been performed on methyl-pendant PBZT to study the effects of intermolecular crosslinking. Several possible crosslinked structures were investigated. The effect of crosslinking was found to be strongly dependent upon crosslink type and, in some instances, crosslink density. A significant axial stress is predicted to occur upon the formation of phenyl-to-phenyl type crosslinks. This provides a reasonable explanation for the experimental observation of transverse cracks in the skin of crosslinked, MePBZT fiber. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 3057–3064, 1998