Abstract: | The original morphology of polytetrafluoroethylene prepared by radiation-induced emulsion polymerization was studied by electron microscopy. The morphology depends on molecular weight, which in turn depends on polymerization conditions, especially the emulsifier concentration. The molecular weight decreases with increasing emulsifier concentration. The morphology changes with molecular weight roughly as follows: fibrils below 105, rods between 105 and 5 × 105, and granular particle above 106. The crystallinity is high for all morphologies. |