Presence of Isoalkanes in Waxes and Their Influence on Their Physical Properties^†

The purpose of this paper is to display the influence of isoalkanes on the structure and mechanical properties of waxes. This work was carried out by means of X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analyses, and dynamic mechanical analyses. Isoalkanes coming from an industrial wax were added in different quantities to a synthetic mixture of linear alkanes. The disorder generated by this addition was estimated by X-ray diffraction; it modifies the structural transformations versus temperature and therefore the mechanical properties. The branched chains of isoalkanes hinder the molecules motions, especially the rotation along the long axis. Thus, some phases usually formed at high temperature are not observed when increasing the temperature. With regard to the mechanical properties, the effect of the branched alkanes was studied using two industrial waxes with Gaussian distribution composition. The dynamic mechanical analyses have shown that the storage modulus (E') is also affected by the isoalkane quantity.