Oscillatory shear measurements on polystyrene melts in the terminal region

Oscillatory shear measurements have been made on a range of anionic polystyrene melts of molecular weights 1000‐‐500,000. For M < 5000 the polymer chain is too short to act as a Gaussian coil and hence the compliance of the melt is very low. For 10,000 < M < 100,000 the compliance of the melt follows the Rouse model of the elasticity of isolated polymer molecules. It is necessary to use the Ferry, Landel and Williams extension of the Rouse theory for M > 40,000 to allow for the effect of entanglements on the complex modulus. For M > 200,000 the entangelment network dominates the compliance and the Rouse theory is no longer applicable.