Normal vibrations and their dispersion in syndiotactic polystyrene

Normal modes and their dispersion are obtained for syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) in the planar zigzag and s(2/1)2 helical conformations. Comparison is made with the spectra of isotactic polystyrene (ips) to identify the conformation-sensitive modes; for example, the 1221 cm−1 mode is identified as a skeletal mode sensitive to chain structure and it also shows maximum dispersion. Bunching of dispersion curves and their intersection are among the characteristic features which are discussed. A check on the dispersion curves below 400 cm−1 is made from the spectra of polystyrene oligomers.