Molecular-Weight-Dependent Changes in Morphology of Solution-Grown Polyethylene Single Crystals
Polymer single crystals consisting of folded chains are always in a nonequilibrium state, even if they are faceted with a well‐defined envelope reflecting the parameters of the crystal unit cell. Heterogeneities like small variations in the degree of chain folding within such crystals are responsibl...
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Published in | Macromolecular rapid communications. Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 181 - 189 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Germany
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.01.2015
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Polymer single crystals consisting of folded chains are always in a nonequilibrium state, even if they are faceted with a well‐defined envelope reflecting the parameters of the crystal unit cell. Heterogeneities like small variations in the degree of chain folding within such crystals are responsible for a rather broad range in melting temperature. Consequently, upon annealing at a given temperature, some parts may be above and some below their respective melting temperatures, inducing a lamellar thickening process, which may vary locally. To emphasize such variations, controlled annealing experiments are performed at comparatively low temperatures and for long times. For single crystals of low‐molecular‐weight polyethylene, the formation of the well‐known “Swiss‐cheese”‐like morphology with randomly distributed holes of varying sizes within the annealed single crystal is observed. However, for high‐molecular‐weight polyethylene, a regular pattern appeared upon annealing, characterized by branches of equal width that are oriented perpendicular to the crystal edge. All branches end at the nucleation site. Interestingly, the resulting pattern depends sensitively on both crystallization and annealing conditions. These thermally induced regular patterns within a single crystal are attributed to a stable crystalline framework formed within polyethylene single crystals in the course of growth.
Controlled annealing experiments of single crystals of polyethylene reveal a molecular‐weight‐dependent change from the well‐known “Swiss‐cheese”‐like morphology with randomly distributed holes to a regular pattern characterized by branches of equal width. These thermally induced patterns are attributed to the initial crystalline framework formed during growth. |
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Bibliography: | ArticleID:MARC201400433 ark:/67375/WNG-RVG1BXW4-N Sino-German Center for Research Promotion National Science Foundation of China - No. 11172272; No. 11372284 istex:BF06A51034611B15E2716CB5C1A915A51AB524FE German Science Foundation China Scholarship Council (CSC) ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1022-1336 1521-3927 |
DOI: | 10.1002/marc.201400433 |