Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
We present measurements of the glass transition and the ultrasonic relaxation modulus in a series of monodisperse polystyrenes. The temperature dependence of the modulus was analyzed using Havriliak-Negami relaxation model (HN) and Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher equation (VTF) for the relaxation time. The results allowed us to determine the fragility index, m, which decreases with increasing molecular weight, Mn. Furthermore, the relaxation time was found to saturate at high molecular weights and varies as Mnp, in the low molecular weight region. The exponent is p≈2 at high temperatures and p ≈ 7 at low temperatures close to Tg.