Kerr effect and dielectric study of ethylene-vinyl chloride copolymers.

Molar Kerr constants ((m)K) and mean-square dipole moments () have been measured for several ethylene-vinyl chloride (E-V) copolymers obtained via the reductive dechlorination of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with tri-n- butyltin hydride. Using Mark's conformational model for E-V copolymers and Monte Carlo chain generation techniques, we have calculated the (m)K and expected for each member of the E-V series by averaging over all possible conformations and configurations. The calculations were performed in two ways: 1) assuming random chlorine removal during the reduction of PVC and 2) accounting for the detailed non-random microstructures present in the E-V copolymers, which were produced in the actual reduction of PVC and were previously characterized by C13 NMR. The observed dipole moments were found to agree to satisfactorily with those calculated by either method, while only method 2) produced calculated (m)K's which agreed with the observed molar Kerr constants. Consequently, (m)K, but not , sensitively reflects the microstructure of E-V copolymers and may be used in their characterization.