Interplay between chemical structure and ageing on mechanical and electric relaxations in poly(ether-block-amide)s

The ageing treatment results in an increased crystallinity in PEBAs with a high polyamide content due to the transition of the polyamide chains from a parallel to anti-parallel β-sheet conformation which forms a stronger hydrogen bonding network. In contrast in PEBAs with high polyether content, the ageing treatment induces the transition of polyamide chains from a parallel β-sheet to an α-helix conformation resulting in the formation of weaker inter-chain interactions.