Time-resolved SAXS studies of morphological changes in cold crystallized poly(ethylene terephthalate) during annealing and heating

Structural changes occurring during crystallization of quenched amorphous poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and subsequent cooling/heating cycles have been studied by real-time small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), using synchrotron radiation. Initial crystallization is found to occur by insertion of new lamellae between the existing ones, while rapid continuous melting/recrystallization happens when the cold-crystallized PET samples are heated above the previous highest annealing temperature. Such melting/recrystalization results in irreversible increases in the lamellar long period, the crystal thickness and the density difference between the crystalline and amorphous regions; in contrast, at temperatures below the prior highest crystallization temperature, the structural changes are dominated by reversible effects such as thermal expansion. However, throughout the entire temperature range up to the melting point around 250 °C, the crystal core thickness remains quite small, less than ca. 50 Å, and the linear crystallinity of lamellar stacks remains nearly constant around 0.3. Such a low crystallinity indicates the presence of thick order-disorder interfacial layers on the lamellar surface, whose thickness increases with temperature.Dedicated to Prof. E. W. Fischer on the occasion of his 65th birthday.     

Morphology and melting behavior of semicrystalline poly(ethylene terephthalate). II. Annealed PET

Annealing of poly(ethylene terephthalate) samples crystallized under isothermal conditions above the crystallization temperature has a marked influence on their morphology and results in increased thermal stability of the crystalline structure as indicated by the melting point increase of the samples. The morphological transformation processes induced by annealing are very complex and depend on the thermal history of the samples, i.e., crystallization temperature and heating procedure. Depending on the nature of the processes occurring during annealing, various parameters characterizing the semicrystalline state of the samples can be affected such as the degree of crystallinity, the long spacing, the thickness of amorphous and crystalline layers, the crystal perfection, the fold-surface structure, and the mosaic structure of the crystalline lamellae. Annealing involves a solid-state transformation of the original crystalline structure including crystal perfection without thickening or a melting followed by recrystallization with crystal perfection and crystal thickening. The combination of differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) measurements and small-angle x-ray scattering is a powerful analytical tool to detect morphological changes and helps in deciding on the processes which are involved in the transformation of the microstructure upon annealing.     

Morphology of homogeneous copolymers of ethylene and 1‐octene. III. Structural changes during heating as revealed by time‐resolved SAXS and WAXD

The structural changes of two linear polyethylenes, LPEs, with different molar mass and of two homogeneous copolymers of ethylene and 1‐octene with comparable comonomer content but different molar mass were monitored during heating at 10 °C per minute using synchrotron radiation SAXS. Two sets of samples, cooled at 0.1 °C per minute and quenched in liquid nitrogen, respectively, were studied. All LPEs display surface melting between room temperature and the end melting temperature, whereas complete melting, according to lamellar thickness, only occurs at the highest temperatures where DSC displays a pronounced melting peak. There is recrystallization followed by isothermal lamellar thickening if annealing steps are inserted. The lamellar crystals of slowly cooled homogeneous copolymers melt in the reverse order of their formation, that is, crystals melt according to their thickness. Quenching creates unstable crystals through the cocrystallization of ethylene sequences with different length. These crystals repeatedly melt and co‐recrystallize during heating. The exothermic heat due to recrystallization partially compensates the endothermic heat due to melting resulting in a narrow overall DSC melting peak with its maximum at a higher temperature than the melting peak of slowly cooled copolymers. With increasing temperature, the crystallinity of quenched copolymers overtakes the one of slowly cooled samples due to co‐recrystallization by which an overcrowding of leaving chains at the crystal surfaces is avoided. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 1975–1991, 2000     

Initial lamellar thickness dependency of recrystallization behavior of poly(4‐methyl‐1‐pentene)

The isothermal crystallization and subsequent melting process in semicrystalline poly(4‐methyl‐1‐pentene) were investigated via temperature‐dependent small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering and Flash DSC techniques. In a phase diagram of inversed crystalline lamellar thickness and temperature, the crystallization and melting lines can be described by two linear dependencies of different slopes and different limiting temperatures at infinite lamellar thickness. Upon subsequent heating, recrystallization lines with different slopes were observed for samples with different lamellar thickness, indicating changes in surface free energy difference between stabilized crystallites and mesomorphic phase. The surface free energy of native crystallites with extended‐chain conformation decreased with increasing lamellar thickness due to a more ordered surface region and less chain ends which changes cooperatively with mesomorphic phase. The surface free energy of stabilized crystallites remained unchanged for all lamellar thickness. Therefore, the recrystallization lines with different slopes are consequences of changes in surface free energy of mesomorphic phase. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 219–224     

Real time small-angle x-ray scattering during annealing of polymer single crystals

Experiments at the Cornell high energy synchrotron source (CHESS) have shown that it is possible to obtain 2-D small-angle x-ray scattering patterns from single crystal mats of high density polyethylene with a time resolution of 0.3 s. However, it took up to 5 s to heat the 0.1-mm-thick specimen to the annealing temperature. A logarithmic increase of long spacing was quickly established, after an induction time of <2 s at the higher annealing temperatures. At lower temperatures the original reflection remains, weakening, while a continuous scatter to smaller angles builds up. At 10–20 s annealing time a new maximum becomes clear, and then the logarithmic increase of long spacing begins. The intensity of this reflection is intially low and increases with annealing time. On cooling it decreases again. It seems that here we can directly observe two mechanisms of lamellar thickening, melting then recrystallization at short times and diffusional thickening at long times.     

Morphology development during solid-state annealing of poly(ether-ester) multiblock copolymers

Morphology development during isothermal annealing of poly(ether-ester) multiblock copolymers with hard segments containing poly(tetramethylene isophthalate) is examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). Reorganization in the solid-state occurs by melting and recrystallization. At temperatures close to the melting point, glass transition measurements after quenching from the annealing temperature suggest microphase mixing follows melting. The temperature of maximum recrystallization rate is elevated relative to that of isothermal crystallization. SAXS experiments suggest that a memory of the initial morphology is retained during annealing. Aspects of the DSC scans related to crystallization on cooling and rescanning also suggest that the morphology at the annealing temperature plays a governing role in the determination of the degree of order possible on cooling. The crystalline regions stable at the annealing temperature are envisioned to function in a dual role, acting as nucleation centers for recrystallization and as a form of “constraint” to ordering on cooling. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Probing multiple melting behaviors in poly(ethylene naphthalene 2,6‐dicarboxylate) with different thermal histories by simultaneous wide‐angle and small‐angle X‐ray scattering

A simultaneous wide‐angle and small‐angle X‐ray scattering study of two poly(ethylene naphthalene 2,6‐dicarboxylate) samples crystallized from the glassy state at different annealing temperatures for different annealing times was carried out with synchrotron radiation. Either single or dual melting was induced in the samples, as confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The correlation function and interface distribution function were calculated to evaluate microstructural parameters such as the long spacing, the thickness of the amorphous and crystalline phases, and the width of the size distributions. The sample with dual melting behavior exhibited an abrupt increase of all microstructural parameters at temperatures above the melting of the lowest endotherm, whereas the sample revealing a single melting endotherm did not show such a sudden change. This finding agrees with the concept that the appearance of two melting peaks in DSC traces can be explained by the dual lamellar stacking model. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 881–894, 2001     

偏氟乙烯/三氟氯乙烯无规共聚物的结晶

用示差扫描量热法(DSC)、广角X射线衍射(WAXD)和傅里叶红外光谱(FTIR)研究了偏氟乙烯/三氟氯乙烯单体摩尔比为1:4的无规共聚物的结晶与晶体结构.结果表明,该无规共聚物属于半结晶型聚合物.在333～353K温度范围内退火,片晶逐渐完善、增厚,熔点和结晶度均随着退火时间的延长而升高.于353K退火时,由DSC结果计算得到片晶厚度约4.68nm.在333K退火时得到共聚物的最大结晶度约为14%.WAXD测试结果表明,沿晶粒(101)晶面的面间距为0.55nm,垂直于(101)衍射晶面方向上的晶粒平均尺寸为5.86nm.     

Annealing effects in poly(vinylidene fluoride) as revealed by specific volume measurements,differential scanning calorimetry,and electron microscopy

Specimens of poly(vinylidene fluoride), crystal form II, annealed at different temperatures between 130 and 180°C were characterized by specific volume measurements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and electron micróscopy. The degree of crystallinity calculated from the specific volume changed only by 15% i.e., from 50% to 65%. On the other hand, the melting behavior changed with annealing conditions. When a specimen was annealed above 170°C, two endothermic peaks appeared on either side of the annealing temperature. Results from DSC measurements made at different heating rates and electron microscopy showed that the two endotherms were caused by a bimodal distribution of lamellar thicknesses. The equilibrium melting point was found to be 210°C from the linear relation of the melting point and the annealing temperature. The equilibrium enthalpy and entropy of fusion were found to be 1.6 keal/mole and 3.3 eu/mole of repeat units by measurement on polymer–diluent mixtures. The surface free energy was found to be 5.1 kcal/mole of lamellar sequences from the plot of melting point versus reciprocal lamellar thickness obtained by electron microscopy. From a plot of enthalpy of fusion versus reciprocal lamellar thickness the surface enthalpy was found to be 20 keal/mole of lamellar sequences. These data lead to the estimate that a chain fold consists of about 30 repeat units.     

Study on Melting and Recrystallization of Poly(butylene succinate) Lamellar Crystals via Step Heating Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been widely applied to study crystallization and melting of materials.However,for polymeric lamellar crystals,the melting thermogram during heating process usually exhibits a broad endothermic peak or even multiple endotherms,which may result from changes of metastability via recrystallization process.Sometimes,the recrystallization exotherm cannot be observed due to its overlapping with the melting endotherm.In this work,we employed a step heating procedure consisting of successive heating and temperature holding stages to measure the metastability of isothermally crystallized poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) crystals.With this approach we could gain the fraction of crystals melted at different temperature ranges and quantitatively detect the melting-recrystallization behavior.The melting-recrystallization behavior depends on the polymer chain structure and the crystallization temperature.For instance,PBS block copolymer hardly shows recrystallization behavior while PBS oligomer and high molecular weight PBS homopolymer demonstrate remarkable melting-recrystallization phenomenon.High molecular weight PBS isothermally crystallized in the low temperature range shows multiple melting-recrystallization while those isothermally crystallized at elevated temperatures do not exhibit observable recrystallization behavior.Furthermore,the melting endotherms were fitted via the melting kinetics equations.The original isothermally crystallized lamellae demonstrate quite different melting kinetics from the recrystallized lamellar crystals that melt at the highest temperature range,which is attributed to the different degrees of stabilization.Finally,the mechanism of melting-recrystallization is briefly discussed.We propose that apparent meltrecrystallization phenomenon be observed when melting of preformed lamellar crystals and recrystallization of thicker lamellae have similar free energy barrier.     

Study on melting and recrystallization of poly(butylene succinate) lamellar crystals <Emphasis Type="Italic">via</Emphasis> step heating differential scanning calorimetry

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been widely applied to study crystallization and melting of materials. However, for polymeric lamellar crystals, the melting thermogram during heating process usually exhibits a broad endothermic peak or even multiple endotherms, which may result from changes of metastability via recrystallization process. Sometimes, the recrystallization exotherm cannot be observed due to its overlapping with the melting endotherm. In this work, we employed a step heating procedure consisting of successive heating and temperature holding stages to measure the metastability of isothermally crystallized poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) crystals. With this approach we could gain the fraction of crystals melted at different temperature ranges and quantitatively detect the melting-recrystallization behavior. The melting-recrystallization behavior depends on the polymer chain structure and the crystallization temperature. For instance, PBS block copolymer hardly shows recrystallization behavior while PBS oligomer and high molecular weight PBS homopolymer demonstrate remarkable melting-recrystallization phenomenon. High molecular weight PBS isothermally crystallized in the low temperature range shows multiple melting-recrystallization while those isothermally crystallized at elevated temperatures do not exhibit observable recrystallization behavior. Furthermore, the melting endotherms were fitted via the melting kinetics equations. The original isothermally crystallized lamellae demonstrate quite different melting kinetics from the recrystallized lamellar crystals that melt at the highest temperature range, which is attributed to the different degrees of stabilization. Finally, the mechanism of melting-recrystallization is briefly discussed. We propose that apparent melt-recrystallization phenomenon be observed when melting of preformed lamellar crystals and recrystallization of thicker lamellae have similar free energy barrier.     

Investigations of a series of PPDI-based polyurethane block copolymers. II. Annealing effects

In a previous study, the morphologies of a group of paraphenylene diisocyanate (PPDI)-based polyurethane block copolymers were examined. These polyurethanes exhibited a multiphase structure with an interfacial boundary thickness estimated to be on the order of 1 nm and crystallization of the polyoxytetramethylene (POTM) flexible segment. Further studies involving annealing of these polyurethanes are reported here. An annealing time of 4 h was used, and the annealing temperature varied from 125 to 200°C. The samples have been characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and with wide- and small-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS, SAXS) in order to determine the effects of annealing on the microphase structure. Annealing increases the phase separation of the two phases as evidenced by sharper endotherms in DSC thermograms and increased intensities in WAXS diffractometer traces. Annealing also slightly increases the transition zone thickness and long-period spacing. At the highest annealing temperature in this study, the long-period spacing increases dramatically due to hard segment domain aggregation.     

Crystallization and thermal properties of PLLA comb polymer

Poly(L ‐lactide) (PLLA) on poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) backbone was prepared by a combination of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and ring‐opening polymerization (ROP). The structure of the comb polymer was analyzed by wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), small angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). WAXD result indicates that the comb polymer has α crystalline modification with a 10₃ helical conformation. Lamellar parameters of the crystalline structure were obtained by one‐dimension correlation function (1DCF) calculated from SAXS results. The calculations show that the thickness of crystalline layer is controlled by annealing temperature and comb structure. DSC was applied to study kinetics of the crystallization and melting behavior. Two melting peaks on melting curves of the comb polymer at different crystallization temperature were detected, and the peak at higher temperature is attributed to the melt‐recrystallization. The equilibrium melting temperature is found to be influenced by the comb structure. In this article the effects of the comb structure on Avrami exponent, equilibrium melting point and melting peak of the comb polymer were discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 589–598, 2008     

Solution annealing of poly(TMPS) crystal mats

Poly(tetramethyl-p-silphenylene siloxane) crystal mats initially prepared from benzene/methanol (2:1 v/v), when annealed in small amounts of solvent undergo considerable thickening in the chain direction. When the crystals are annealed above their formation temperature, their physical properties change rapidly at first before reaching an asymptotic limit commensurate with annealing time and type of solvent. Changes in melting temperature, heat of fusion, small-angle x-ray spacing, and wide-angle x-ray scattering patterns have been monitored for three solvents of varying solvent power, ranging from very good to extremely poor. Upon solution annealing, the original crystals mats equilibrate to more stable dimensions compatible with their environment. The activation energy of crystal thickening in contact with a liquid is estimated to be about an order of magnitude lower than that deduced from dry annealing data. It appears that the crystal surface and the crystalline core of the crystals comprising the mats must participate in the measured severalfold increase in long period noted after annealing. The lower surface (or interfacial) energy of the liquid annealed mats compared to isothermally melt-crystallized polymer of similar molecular weight has a direct bearing on the polymer morphology and crystallinity.     

Thermal annealing of doubly oriented nylon 11 in contact with formic acid

The most striking feature of the mechanism of thermal annealing of doubly oriented samples of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and probably of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is a progressive tilt of lamellar crystals around their crystallographic b axis. Such a rotation does not occur on thermal annealing in doubly oriented nylons. However, this rotation mechanism occurs during the thermal annealing of doubly oriented samples of nylon 11 in contact with a solvent below its dissolution temperature. As for oriented samples of polyethylene (PE), a correlation between the changes of macroscopic dimensions and long spacing obtained from the small-angle x-ray pattern is difficult to establish. In doubly oriented samples of nylon 11, the basal faces of the lamellar crystals are parallel to the a axis of the unit cell. Nevertheless, simple Miller indices cannot be assigned to the basal planes of the lamellae. On thermal annealing in formic acid, the basal planes of the lamellar crystals are, in some cases, parallel to (00l) planes. Annealing in formic acid at room temperature induces a phase transition: the chain c axis remains oriented along the rolling direction and the (00l) planes become parallel to the limiting planes of the lamellar crystals. Bulk doubly oriented samples of nylon 11 annealed in formic acid just below the “dissolution temperature” have the same texture of orientation as filter mats of single crystals grown from dilute solution; moreover, as these bulk specimens remain doubly oriented, they can be used for further physicochemical investigations. The usual interpretation of the small-angle x-ray pattern is also discussed on the basis of the results reported in this paper.     

Time-resolved synchrotron X-ray study of crystalline phase transition in poly(aryl ether ketone ketone) containing alternated terephthalic/isophthalic moieties

Unique crystallization and melting behavior in poly(aryl ether ketone ketone) containing alternated terephthalic and isophthalic moieties were studied by time-resolved synchrotron x-ray methods. Recently, this material has been shown to exhibit three polymorphs (forms I, II, and III). In this work, we further investigated their distinctive thermal properties and found that form I is the dominating and the most thermally stable phase while form II is favored by fast nucleation conditions and is the least stable phase. On the other hand, form III represents a minor intermediate phase that usually coexists with form I and can be transferred from form II and to form I. Structural and morphological changes in form I have been followed by simultaneous wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD)/small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements during cold- or melt-crystallization and subsequent melting. In all cases, a larger dimensional change was found in the crystallographic a-axis than the b-axis during heating and cooling. This may be due to the greater lateral stress variation with respect to temperature along the a direction of the primary lamellae which is induced by either the formation of secondary lamellae or the preferential chain-folding direction in poly(aryl ether ketone ketone)s. During the phase transitions of form II ← III in the cold-crystallized specimen and form III ← I in the melt-crystallized samples, lamellar variables (long period, lamellar thickness, and invariant) obtained from SAXS remain almost constant. This indicates that the density distribution in the long spacing is independent of the melting in form II or III. For melt-crystallization, the corresponding changes in unit-cell dimensions and lamellar morphology during the annealing-induced low endotherm are most consistent with the argument that these changes are due to the melting of thin lamellar population. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Influence of crystallization and annealing conditions on the morphology of bulk-crystallized isotactic polystyrene

The influence of thermal history on the morphology of bulk-crystallized isotactic polystyrene was investigated. Results from x-ray diffraction (both wide- and small-angle), DSC experiments, and electron microscope observations, were combined to define the influence of thermal history on the fold surface free energy σ_e. lamellar thickness, and crystallite perfection. The increase of the melting point with crystallization temperature is not only the consequence of an increase in lamellar thickness, but also of marked decrease of σ_e. Annealing above the crystallization temperature results in a fast reorganization to a more stable structure, as reflected in an increase in melting point. This reorganization, depending on the crystallization temperature, involves an increase in lamellar thickness, a decrease of σ_e, and eventually an increase in crystallite perfection.     

热历史对尼龙1212熔融行为的影响

利用DSC方法研究了不同热历史条件对尼龙1212熔融行为的影响.不同的热历史条件下,在DSC曲线上,观察到尼龙1212产生2个或3个熔融峰,依据聚合物结晶理论,对各峰的来源进行了分析.在160℃下不同温度退火120 min的尼龙1212样品DSC曲线上,低温结晶熔融峰主要由低温结晶形成的一些微晶体或者片晶熔融产生,其晶体完善程度较差,熔融峰值较低,峰面积较小;主熔融峰是由样品在淬火过程中形成的晶体和升温过程中低温结晶形成的晶体的熔融重结晶形成较为完善的晶体熔融所产生,熔融峰值较高,峰面积较大.在不同的升温速率条件下,熔融峰温度有所移动,表明不同升温速率条件下产生的熔融峰的结晶晶型是相同的.在不同结晶时间下结晶,延长结晶时间对较高完善程度晶体的生长有利.在不同温度下依次退火处理的样品,熔融产生两个附加峰,这两个附加峰的峰温都比它们相应的退火温度高,而峰高和峰面积随退火温度降低而减小.根据等温结晶结果,由Hoffman方法确定了尼龙1212的平衡熔融温度为202.8℃.     

Melt crystallized polyamide 6.6 and its copolymers, Part I. Melting point - Lamellar thickness relations in the homopolymer

The effect of isothermal crystallization temperature and time on the lamellar thickness and the melting behavior of polyamide 66 has been studied. Measurements were made of the melting temperature, crystallinity, and the long period. When calculated in the conventional direct manner, for samples crystallized isothermally, the calculated lamellar thickness was found to vary only from 2.4 to 3.2 nm over the entire range of conditions considered. When viewed in a non-critical fashion the polymer appears to conform to normal behavior including typical T_c vs. T_m behavior on a Hoffman-Weeks plot and apparent linearity in a Gibbs-Thompson plot. SAXS data indicates that there are only small changes in the lamellar thickness occurring over the entire crystallization range despite major changes in the melting point. Accordingly the Gibbs-Thompson plot shows major amounts of scatter, which are well beyond the experimental errors involved. The changes in melting temperature appear to be a result of changes in the structure of the fold surface on the basis of the conventional lamellar thickness analysis. In particular they appear to be due to changes in the character of the surface related to the hydrogen bonding and to the relative amounts of acid and amine segments present in the folds.When a more thorough analysis of the SAXS data are conducted, using a one dimensional correlation function approach, calculation of the crystal core thicknesses and “interfacial layer” thicknesses, a different picture emerges. In this case, the total lamellar thickness remains approximately constant at 2 repeat units in length with isothermal crystallization temperature, however, the core thickness increases with increasing crystallization temperature and time, from 1.5 to 2 repeat units in length, whereas the “interfacial layer” thickness is substantial at lower temperatures and times. When the core thickness is used in a Gibbs-Thompson plot the equilibrium melting temperature is found to be 303.7 °C (cf. 301 °C from solution grown crystals). However, the fold surface free energy is found to be 23.7 erg/cm² much lower than the value of 74.6 erg/cm² characteristic of solution grown crystals. Such a large discrepancy is believed to be a result of the highly polar solvents used in solution based studies generating the widely accepted “acid folds”. The difference may be because of a switch to folds containing six methylene groups from the diamine mer in the bulk case.Since the polymer is known to crystallize in the hexagonal state and reorganize during cooling to the regularly reported structure it is possible that the “interfacial thickness” is indeed a disordered surface layer within the crystalline lamella that originates from the precursor hexagonal phase during its formation, rather than the conventional disordered surface interpretation, applicable to polymers such as polyethylene. It is also possible that it is reflective of disorder induced in surface layers within the crystal due to the conformational changes occurring during this crystal-crystal transition. For these reasons, we prefer to refer to the “interfacial layer” obtained from SAXS calculations as an innerlayer.     

Solution crystallization of nylon 12

Electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction data have been obtained on nylon 12 crystallized from 1-hexanol, 1,6-hexanediol, and hexylene glycol. Ribbonlike lamellar crystals of the γ form are obtained by crystallization from all the solutions and elongated flat crystals of the α form by crystallization from the 1-hexanol and hexylene glycol solutions. The direction of the hydrogen bond in these crystals is almost parallel to that of maximum crystal elongation. α- and γ-form crystals both grow from 1-hexanol and hexylene glycol at appropriate crystallization temperatures. γ-form crystals alone are obtained from 1,6-hexanediol solution at every crystallization temperature. The long periods measured by small-angle x-ray diffraction for the solution-grown crystals are in the range 7.6–10.6 nm. The melting behavior of the solution-grown crystals is examined and discussed. The melting temperatures of the γ form may be lower than that of the α form. An equilibrium melting temperature of 208.4°C for γ-form crystals is obtained by using a relation between thickness of lamellar crystals and their melting temperatures observed by differential scanning calorimeter measurements. Solvents affect the growth of the two crystalline forms in solution crystallization.