ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF RADIUS OF GYRATION OF CHAINS IN THE MELT IN THE CRYSTALIZATION OF POLY(1-BUTENE)

Crystallization in polymer systems actually is a process that transfers the entangled melts into a semi-crystallinelayered structure. Whether or not a chain disentangles may result in different crystallization mechanism. When compared tothe crystal thickness (d_c), the volume occupied by the chain in the melt, i.e., the radius of gyration (R_g), plays a veryimportant role in polymer crystallization. When d_c≤R_g, crystallization does not necessitate a chain disentangling. Theentanglements are just shifted into the amorphous regions. However, as d_c>R_g, i.e., as the crystal thickness ges larger thanthe radius of gyration of the chain in the melt, it becomes necessary for a chain to disentangle. Then a change ofcrystallization mechanism occurs. Such change has been experimentally observed in the crystallization of poly(1-butene). Achange in the crystal morphologies from spherulite to quadrangle, is seen via PLM, as crystalliation temperatures increase.Even more, such a change is molecular weigh dependent and shifts to lower temperature as molecular weigh decreases.There exists a jump of crystal thickness and crystallinity associated with morphological change, as seen via SAXS. A changeof crystallization kinetics and crystallinity is further evidenced via dilatometry. The unique feature of P1b crystallization hasbeen discussed based on the radius of gyration of chain in the melt (R_g), and very good agreement is obtained.     

STUDIES OK TRANSFORMATION FOR ZEOLITE CRYSTAL(Ⅲ)——THE STABILITY OF ZEOLITE NaY AND THE STRUCTURE OF ZEOLITE NaPc

We investigated the crystallization of NaY and especially the transformation for NaY to NaPc type zeolite from an initial gel of the batch composition 3.3Na2O Al2O3 10SiO2 200H2O at 100℃and the changes of zeolite structures in the process of the transformation crystal using the modern techniques,A more detailed liquid phase transportation mechanism of the transformation was suggested.     

IN-SITU AFM OF POLYMER CRYSTALLIZATION

Atomic force microscopy images taken during the crystallization of polyethylene both from processed andquiescent melts are presented. Crystallization from processed melts provides further evidence of a region in front of agrowing lamella that is influenced by the crystallization process, but extending only 40 nm into the melt. High-resolutionimages of the growing crystal tip, taken during crystallization, show no direct evidence of the existence of intermediatephases. The growing tip is shown to be slightly rounded. In-filling crystallization, occurring after the initial flush of growth,is imaged in polyethylene for the first time, and shown to continue to a temperature 8℃ below the initial crystallizationtemperature.     

THE STRUCTURE OF AGGREGATION STATE AND ISOTHERMAL CRYSTALLIZATION KINETICS OF NYLON-1010

The structure of aggregation state and isothermal crystallization behavior of Nylon-1010 have been studied by WAXD, DSE, Variance-Range Function and density measurement. The results show that crystallization of Nylon-1010 has the most suitable annealing temperature, the crystals of the Nxlon-1010 are two-dimension heterogeneous nucleation. Both low treatment temperature and high crystallization te, temperature are disadvantageous for Nylon-1010 crystal growth.     

INFLUENCE OF SAMPLE THICKNESS ON ISOTHERMAL CRYSTALLIZATION KINETICS OF POLYMERS IN A CONFINED VOLUME

Isothermal crystallization process of polymers in a confined volume was simulated in the case of instantaneous nucleation by use of the Monte Carlo method. The influence of sample thickness on some kinetic parameters of crystallization was quantitatively evaluated. It was found that there was a critical thickness value. Influence of thickness on the crystallization behavior was only found for samples of thickness near and less than the critical value. For thick samples the Avrami plot showed straight lines with a turning point at the late stage of crystallization due to the secondary crystallization. When the thickness was near or less than the critical value a primary turning point appeared in the Avrami plot at the very beginning of the crystallization process. A model was proposed to explain the mechanism of this phenomenon. According to this model the critical thickness value is related to the nucleation density or the average distance between adjacent nuclei, and the primary turning point is an indication of a transformation of crystal growth geometry from a three-dimensional mode to a two-dimensional one. Analysis of experimental results of PEO isothermally crystallized at 53.5℃ was consistent with the proposed model.     

In Situ Synthesis of NaY Zeolite with Coal—Based Kaolin

NaY zeolites were in-situ synthesized form coal-based kaolin via the hydrothermal method. The effects of various factors on the structure of the samples were extensively investigated.The samples were characterized by N2 adsorption,XRD,IR and DTG-DTA methods,and the results show that the crystallization temperature and amount of added water play an important role in the formation of the zeolite structure.The 4A and P zeolites are the competitive Phaes present in the resulting product.However,NaY zeolites wiht a higher relative crystallinity,excluding impure crystals and the well hydrothermal stapore size distribution,and this means that optimization of this process might result in a commercial route to synthesize NaY zeolites form coal-based kaolin.     

THE SOLID STATE REACTIONS AND TRANSITIONS IN HIGH POLYMERIC SYSTEMS Ⅲ. THE BULK CRYSTALLIZATION OF LANTHANIDECATALYTICALLY POLYMERIZED POLYDIENES

For the mechanism of isothermal bulk crystallization of high polymers, beside the nucleation and growth steps, the unimpingement of growing crystal aggregates should be taken into account for the modification of the Avrami equation. Starting from Poisson distribution function of growing crystal aggregates, the probability of the unimpinging ones should be P(0)+P(1), then the Q-modified Avrami equation thus derived can be expressed aswhere V0 represents the volume fraction of crystal aggregates at crystallization time t at a given temperature, while the exponent n on t relates to the mode of nucleation and growth, and K_q is the corresponding shape factor. This Q-modified one is verified satisfactory by the isothermal bulk crystallization of lanthanidecatalytically polymerized polybutadiene (Ln-PB), polyisoprene (Ln-PIR) and their copolymers (LnPB/IR). Furthermore, the proposed mechanism is well identified by the change of morphological state during the course of crystallization of the corresponding east film of Ln-PB TR (92/8) at-60°(Fig. 1).Upon examination of the influence of the number of entanglement on crystallization rate, it reveals the existence of two stages of entanglementation, the primary and the secondary ones (Fig. 19)The equation for dependence of molecular weight and entanglement on bulk crystallization rate has been derived as Eq. 13 or 18 for Ln-PB, and verified by the experimental rate data of well fractionated Ln-PB samples crystallized at -9.1 to -15℃(Fig.20).     

IN SITU OBSERVATION OF MELTING AND CRYSTALLIZATION BEHAVIORS OF POLY(ε-CAPROLACTONE) ULTRA-THIN FILMS BY AFM TECHNIQUE

The melting and crystallization behaviors of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) ultra-thin films with thickness from 15 nm to 8 nm were studied by AFM technique equipped with a hot-stage in real-time. It was found that melting can erase the spherulitic structure for polymer film with high thickness. However, annealing above the melting point can not completely erase the tree-like structure for the thinner polymer film. Generally, the structure formation of thin polymer films of PCL is controlled not only by melting and crystallization but also by dewetting during thermal annealing procedures, and dewetting predominates in the structure formation of ultra-thin films. However, the presence of tree-like morphology at 75 °C may be due to the strong interaction between PCL and mica surface, which may stick the PCL chains onto the mica surface during thermal annealing process. Moreover, the growth of the dendrites was investigated and it was found that crystallization is followed from a dewetted sample, and the branches did not grow with the stems. The crystallization of polymer in the ultra-thin films is a diffusion-controlled process. Both melting and crystallization behaviors of PCL in thin films are influenced by film thickness.     

THE EFFECT OF CLAY DISPERSION ON THE CRYSTALLIZATION AND MORPHOLOGY OF POLYPROPYLENE／CLAY COMPOSITES

PP/clay composites with different dispersions, namely, exfoliated dispersion, intercalated dispersion and agglomerates and particle-like dispersion, were prepared by direct melt intercalation or compounding. The effect of clay dispersion on the crystallization and morphology of PP was investigated via PLM, SAXS and DSC. Experimental results show that exfoliated clay layers are much more efficient than intercalated clay and agglomerates of clay in serving as nucleation agent due to the nano-scale dispersion of clay, resulting in a dramatic decrease in crystal size (lamellar thickness and spherulites) and an increase of crystallization temperature and crystallization rate. On the other hand, a decrease of melting temperature and crystallinity was also observed in PP/clay composites with exfoliated dispersion, due to the strong interaction between PP and clay. Compared with exfoliated clay layers, the intercalated clay layers have a less important effect on the crystallization and crystal morphology. No effect is seen for samples with agglomerates and particle-like dispersion, in regard to melting temperature, crystallization temperature, crystal thickness and crystallinity.     

NUCLEATION MECHANISM OF PEO BLOCK IN DOUBLE-CRYSTALLINE POLY（ETHYLENE-co-BUTENE）-b-POLY（ETHYLENE OXIDE） BLOCK COPOLYMERS

In this paper, we proposed a method to determine the nucleation effect of pre-existing crystals on crystallization of the second block in double crystalline block copolymers, which is usually covered by the suppression effect. The nucleation mechanism of poly（ethylene oxide） （PEO） block from the pre-crystallized polyethylene （PE） block in poly（ethylene-cobutene）-b-poly（ethylene glycol） （EmEOn） diblock copolymers was investigated under variable crystallization environments. The crystallization environment for the PEO block was altered by cooling at different cooling rates or successive selfnucleation （SSN） to the PE block. It was found that the presence of nucleation effect is strongly dependent on composition of the block copolymers. The crystallization temperature （Tc） of PEO block in E174EO90 increases as cooling rate applied to the PE block decreases, indicating that PE block can nucleate the crystallization of PEO block and more perfect PE crystals have stronger nucleation effect. In E182EO41 crystallization of the PEO block is confined, shown by the disappearance of selfnucleation domain, and the PE block has no nucleation effect on the crystallization of PEO block. Double crystallization peaks are observed for the PEO block in E182EO41 and the intensity of the crystallization peak at higher temperature increases as the PE crystals become more perfect. After exclusion of homogeneous nucleation mechanism, the higher temperature crystallization peak of the PEO block in E182EO41 is tentatively ascribed to surface nucleation.     

STUDIES ON THE KINETICS OF PHASE TRANSITIONS OF A MAIN CHAIN THERMOTROPIC POLYESTER

The kinetics of phase transitions including a transition between mesophases were studied for a main-chain thermotropic polyester by means of DSC and depolarizing transmittance techniques. The isothermal process of these transitions was found to be described by the Avrami equation to high conversions. The Avrami exponents n are about 2,4, 5.3 and 2.2 for liquid crystallization, transition between mesophases and crystallization from mesophase respectively. The liquid crystallization from isotropic liquid phase occurs at very low undercoolings with high transformation rate. This behavior is explained as the results of the smaller value of the surface free energy for mesophase than that for crystallites which is evidenced by the very weak temperature dependence of liquid crystallization rate.     

Direct Comparison of Crystal Nucleation Activity of PCL on Patterned Substrates

A sample containing different regions with poly(ε-caprolactone)(PCL), oriented polyethylene (PE), and oriented isotactic polypropylene (iPP) films in contact with glass slide has been prepared to be observed in the same view field in an optical microscope and the crystallization of PCL in different regions during cooling from 80 °C down to room temperature at a rate of 1 °C·min^-1 was studied. The results showed that the crystallization of PCL started first at the PE surface and then at the iPP surface, while its bulk crystallization occured much later. This indicates that though both PE and iPP are active in nucleating PCL, the nucleation ability of PE is stronger than that of iPP. This was due to a better lattice matching between PCL and PE than that between PCL and iPP. Moreover, since lattice matching existed between every (hk0) lattice planes of both PCL and PE but only between the (100)PCL and (010)iPP lattice planes, the uniaxial orientation feature of the used PE and iPP films resulted in the existence of much more active nucleation sites of PCL on PE than on iPP. This led to the fact that the nucleation density of PCL at PE surface was so high that the crystallization of PCL at PE surface took place in a way like the film developing process with PCL microcrystallites happened everywhere with crystallization proceeding simultaneously. On the other hand, even though iPP also enhanced the nucleation density of PCL evidently, the crystallization of PCL at iPP surface included still a nucleation and crystal growth processes similar to that of its bulk crystallization.     

EFFECT OF STRUCTURE ON DEFECT FORMATION IN CRYSTAL OF LITHIUM BORIC OXIDE (LBO)

<正> The effect of structure on the defective formation in non-linear optical crystal of lithium boric oxide(LBO)was studied by X-ray topography.Only a few dislocations with the density less than 50/cm2 occur in the specimen cut far from the seed.Most inclusive formed in the late growth stage show a regular orthorhombic shape with a definite orientation,which are due to the negative crystal growth happened further in the inclusioned melt.The grown-in dislocation takes nearly the screw character with the Burgers vector b almost all in the low index directions,however,the inclusion-induced dislocation is distributed much closely in a network parallel only to the plane of(010)and also takes the screw type with b all in the lowest diretions of this plane.The high movability of lithium ions in open structure and the loosely atmic packings on certain planes were taken into account for the defect formation in addition to for some other crystal properties.     

Unusual Spherulitic Morphology of Poly(propylene fumarate)

Spherulites are the most common crystalline morphology and thus the visual expression of crystal structures for polymers. The diversified patterns have provided intuitive morphology probes for various crystallization behaviors, while the correlations between them are still needed to be enriched. In this work, the complicated spherulitic morphology of poly(propylene fumarate)(PPF), which is sensitive to crystallization temperature, is investigated. PPF melt, respectively, crystallizes into rough spherulites, regularly banded spherulites, and spherulites containing both two kinds of morphology at low, high, and mediate temperatures. By systematically assaying, it is clear that the growth axis along the radial direction changes from a-axis to b-axis as the crystallization temperature increases, which leads to the formation of unique crystallization-temperature-dependent spherulites. Based on detailed characterization of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the packing state of the specific hydrogen bonds of "C=C―H···O=C―C=C" in PPF crystal lattices is determined, and furthermore, the mechanism for temperature-dependent selection of growth axes for PPF spherulites in melt is reasonably speculated.     

碱金属盐对ZSM-5分子筛晶化的影响

Effect of different alkali metal salts on the crystal size and the crystallization rate of ZSM-5 zeolite was de-tailedly investigated in this paper. The samples prepared by adding the different alkali metal salts were character-ized by using XRD， TEM， TG-DSC， BET and IR techniques. The XRD results showed that， for the nanosized ZSM-5 zeolite， the characteristic peaks broadened on the XRD patterns in comparison with the microsized ZSM-5 zeolite. The SEM results verified that the crystal size of zeolites prepared by adding different alkali metal salts had different results， and adding NaCl， NaC₂H₃O₂ and KCl showed the better effect of reducing crystal size， which are about of 40～60nm size. The crystallization curve of adding the different alkali metal salts suggested that the crystallization rate was significantly affected by the anions in the alkali metal salt besides the cations. Moreover， the crystal size likewise depended on the anion in the alkali metal salt. In addition， the BET results suggested that the nanosized ZSM-5 zeolite possessed a larger outer surface area in comparison with the microsized ZSM-5 zeolite. The thermostability of the samples was determined by TG-DSC technique， indicating that the nanosized ZSM-5 zeolite had a poor thermostability as compared with the microsized ZSM-5 zeolite. The possible difference of the samples with different crystal sizes on IR spectra was also given.     

Preparation of a novel composite electrode based on N-doped TiO_2-coated Na Y zeolite membrane and its photoelectrocatalytic performance

For the first time the preparation of the N-doped TiO_2-coated NaY zeolite membrane(N-doped TiO_2/NaY zeolite membrane) as an electrode material for photoelectrocatalysis has been achieved and reported.The XRD, SEM, UV–vis and XPS techniques were used to characterize the structure of the N-doped TiO_2/NaY zeolite membrane. The results verified that the surface of the N-doped TiO_2/NaY zeolite membrane was coated by TiO_2 nanoparticles of ca. 20 nm size and exhibited a distinct red-shift in the UV–vis spectra compared to N-doped TiO_2. The photoelectrocatalysis performance of the N-doped TiO_2/NaY zeolite membrane electrode was evaluated by phenol degradation. The results revealed it is a promising novel electrode material for application of photoelectrocatalysis in the removal of organic contaminants in waste water.     

Crystallization behavior of disproportionately high and low molecular weight PEO blends

The crystallization behavior of PEOs with molecular weight of 1 Ok and 200k as well as their blends was studied in details. The results show that the lower molecular weight PEO crystallizes with faster crystallization rate as judged from a shorter time for completing the crystallization. On the other hand, the higher molecular weight PEO crystallizes at relatively higher temperature, indicating an early start of crystallization compared with the lower molecular weight one. The blends of these two PEOs with different blend ratios always cocrystallize during the cooling processes. It is confirmed that mixing of the 10k PEO with the 200k one is in favor of the crystallization of the system. This is not only demonstrated by the early start of the crystallization at higher crystallization temperature, and also a faster crystal growth of the blend with respect to the 200k PEO. The crystallization of the blends at higher temperature is caused by an early start of nucleation and an increment of nucleus density. This may originate from the density fluctuation of the blend and a reduction in energy barrier for nucleation. Moreover, it is found that the crystallinity of the 1 Ok PEO rich blends increases with increasing concentration of the 10k PEO. This is caused by the solvent effect of the 10k PEO toward the 200k PEO. On the other hand, the crystallinity of the 30/70 （10k/200k） PEO blend is decreased a little bit. This may be a balanced result of the improved crystallization of the 200k PEO at the expense of the high crystallization ability of the 1 Ok PEO.     

Molecular dynamics study of the nucleation behavior and lamellar mergence in polyethylene globule crystallization

The site order parameter (SOP) has been adopted to analyze various orders of structure formation and distribution during the crystallization of a polyethylene globule simulated by molecular dynamics. The SOP not only identifies different orders among the structures but also different phases. The results showed that intermediate structures with medium order exist unevenly in the early stage of nucleation, which differs from traditional models. We found that the nucleation relies on crystallinity fluctuations with increasing amplitude, and a baby nucleus with different shape and increasing size suddenly appears in the fluctuations. Once its size is large enough, the baby nucleus becomes the nucleus. In the growth stage, a number of lamellar mergences were observed and their selective behaviors were related to the orientation differences between the lamellae to be merged. The SOP distribution of all atoms in the system during crystallization had two peaks: one for the amorphous phase and the other for the crystalline phase. The intermediate structures with medium orders are located between the two peaks as an order promotion pathway. The data show that the medium order structure fluctuates at the growth front and is not always available, and that the medium order structure existing at the front is not always good for development. It is possibly caused by chain entanglement. Structure fluctuation at the growth front enables the system showing thousands of the most probable configurations to approach the precursor. The growth front is thus active for a while and inactive at other times.     

Growth mechanisms for spherical Ni0.815Co0.15Al0.035(OH)2 precursors prepared via the ammonia complexation precipitation method

The microstructures of precursors strongly affect the electrochemical performance of Ni-rich layerstructured cathode materials.In this study,the growth behaviour of Ni_0.815Co_0.15Al_0.035(OH)_2(NCA) prepared via the ammonia complexation precipitation method in a 50-L-volume continuously stirred tank reactor(CSTR) is studied in detail.The growth of Ni(OH)2-based hydroxide can be divided into a nucleation process,an agglomeration growth process,a process in which multiple growth mechanisms coexist,and an interface growth process over time,while the inner structure of the CSTR can be divided into a nucleation zone,a complex dissolution zone,a growth zone,and a maturation zone.The concentration of ammonium ions affects the growth habit of the primary crystal significantly due to its specific adsorption on the electronegative crystal plane.When the ammonia concentration is <1.5 mol L^-1 at 60℃ at pH=11.5,the precursors grow preferentially along the(1 0 1) crystal plane,whereas they grow preferentially along the(0 0 1) crystal plane when the concentration is >2.0 mol L^-1.The LiNi_0.815Co_0.15Al_0.035O_2 materials inherit the grain structure of the precursor.Materials prepared from precursors with(1 0 1)preferential primary particles show a higher specific capacity and better rate performance than those that were prepared from(0 0 1) preferential primary particles,but the latter realize a better cycling performance than the former.     

STUDY ON THE FORMATION MECHANISM OF MONODISPERSE PARTICLES IN THE EMULSIFIER-FREE EMULSION POLYMEAIZATION OF METHYL METHACRYLATE AND BUTYL ACRYLATE

The formation mechanism of monodisperse polymer latex particles in the emulsifier-free emulsion polymerizationof methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate with potassium persulfate as initiator was investigated. A multi-step formationmechanism for the monodisperse polymer particles was proposed. The nucleation mechanism is considered to be thecoagulation of the precursor particles by homogeneous nucleation when the primary particles reach a critical size with highsurface charge density and sufficient stability. It had been proved by a special experiment that the early latex particles formedby the coagulation were stable. The primary particles grow by absorbing monomers and radicals in the polymerization systemand then become colloidally unstable again due to the understandable decrease of particle surface charge density, which leadsto the aggregation of the growing particles and the formation of larger latex pedicles therefrom. Aner the nucleation period,the preferential aggregation of the smaller particles in the propagation process leads to the change of the particles towards auniform size and narrower particle size distribution. The coexistence and competition of homogeneous nucleation,coagulation, propagation and aggregation result in the increase of the polydispersity index (U = D_(43)/D_(10)) in the first Stage,then its decrease in the later stage because of the competition of propagation and aggregation, and the gradual formation ofthe monodisperse particles.