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Macromolecular Rapid Communications, Vol.25, No.22, 1921-1926, 2004
Distinguishing linear from star-branched polystyrene solutions with Fourier-transform rheology
Fourier-Transform rheology (FT rheology) was used to study the influence of the degree of branching on the nonlinear relaxation behaviour of polystyrene solutions. The results were compared with those obtained under oscillatory shear and step-shear conditions. The different topologies could be distinguished using FT rheology where the other rheological measurements failed. Significant differences occurred under large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) conditions as particularly reflected in the phase difference of the third harmonic, Phi(3), which could be related to strain-softening and strain-hardening behaviour. Currently, this work is extended towards different topologies in polyolefins (e.g. long chain branched).