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Abstract
The behavior of mixtures of derivatives of poly(γ-benzyl L-glutamate) (PBLG) having long alkyl side-chains as pendant groups and n-alkanes was investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, electron-spin resonance, and observation under crossed polarizers. When the n-alkane was not too long compared with the length of the alkyl side-chains of the polypeptide, the n-alkane molecules intruded into a crystalline texture formed by the polymer side-chains, extending the interval of the rod-like polymer backbones and disarranging the crystalline texture to lower its melting point. The temperature of the crystal-to-liquid crystal transition of the PBLG derivative, caused by the melting of the side-chains crystal lowered accordingly. The critical number of carbons of the n-alkane to lower the transition temperature was 16 when the number of carbons in the alkyl chain was 8, 19 when it was 12, 21 when it was 16, and 27 when it was 22.