Work

Competition between crystal growth and intracrystalline chain diffusion determines the lamellar thickness in semicrystalline polymers

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: The non-equilibrium thickness of lamellar crystals in semicrystalline polymers varies largely between different polymer systems and depends on the crystallization temperature Tc. There is currently no consensus on the mechanism of thickness selection. Previous work has highlighted the decisive role of intracrystalline chain dynamics (ICD) in special cases, but a systematic dependence of lamellar thickness on relevant timescales such as that of ICD and stem attachment has not yet been established. Studying the morphology by small-angle X-ray scattering and the two timescales by NMR methods and polarization microscopy, we here present data on poly(oxymethylene), a case with comparably slow ICD. It fills the gap between previously studied cases of absent and fast ICD, enabling us to establish for the first time a quantitative dependence of lamellar thickness on the competition between the noted timescales.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27752-0

Authors: Martha Schulz, Mareen Schäfer, Kay Saalwächter, Thomas Thurn-Albrecht

Institution: Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

Language: English

Topic: Polymer crystallization and properties

Subfield: Polymers and Plastics

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $5,890

Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft