The triple melting behavior of poly(ethylene terephthalate): Molecular weight effects

The melting behavior of isothermally crystallized PET has been studied using linear heating in a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Variables such as crystallization temperature, crystallization time, heating rate, and average molecular weight are the main focus of the study. On the basis of several experimental techniques, a correlation of the melting behavior of PET with the amount of secondary crystallization was found to exist. It was observed that the triple melting of PET is a function of programmable DSC variables such as crystallization temperature, crystallization time, and heating rate. However, in testing the hypothesis that there was a correlation between melting endotherms and secondary crystallization inside spherulites, it was found necessary to use a DSC-independent variable in order to enhance the observed effects. Therefore, on the basis of a crystallization model that involves secondary branching along the edges of parent lamellar structures, it was speculated that an increase in the average molecular weight could affect the triple melting of PET due to an increase of rejected portions of the macromolecules. It was found that the second melting endotherm increased, apparently, at the expense of the third one as the average molecular weight was increased. The second melting endotherm was also found to correlate proportionally with the amount of secondary crystallization inside spherulites. The results support a model of crystallization which basically consists of parent crystals and at least one population of secondary, probably metastable, crystals. This latter structural component must involve excluded portions of the macromolecules that did not crystallize during the isothermal crystallization period of the parent crystals. An increase of molecular weight gives rise to a higher entanglement density which in turn increases the fraction of initially rejected chain sections and therefore the amount of secondary crystallization. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 1757–1774, 1997     

Interpretation of the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of polypropylene using a power law nucleation rate function

A nucleation rate function is proposed for use in analyzing the overall crystallization kinetics of polymers. This function allows for the possibility that the nucleation rate varies substantially during the crystallization. This feature is particularly useful in analyzing nonisothermal crystallization, but it can be used to analyze isothermal crystallization as well. The nucleation rate function was used in the derivation of a modified transformation kinetics equation of the Avrami type. The modified Avrami equation was found to be suitable for kinetics analysis for the data obtained from nonisothermal crystallization at rapid cooling rates. Kinetics parameters used to describe nonisothermal crystallization under rapid cooling rates are presented and discussed. These include crystallization induction time, plateau (crystallization) temperature, crystallization half-time, crystallization rate constant, Avrami index, and newly defined quantities called nucleation index, geometric index, and nucleation rate constant. The procedure used to obtain the nucleation rate constant and nucleation index for the nucleation rate function is described and illustrated by application to the analysis of the crystallization kinetics of polypropylene. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 1077–1093, 1997     

Raman longitudinal acoustic mode studies of poly(ethylene oxide) and α,ω-methoxylated poly(ethylene oxide) fractions during isothermal crystallization from the melt

Raman longitudinal acoustic mode (LAM) spectra have been obtained during isothermal crystallization from the melt at various temperatures of a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) fraction of molecular weight about 3000 and an α,ω-methoxylated fraction (MPEO) derived from it. For both fractions, we find that noninteger fold (NIF) chains are formed in the initial stages of crystallization. With time, and more rapidly at higher crystallization temperatures, the NIF chains transform into integer-fold (IF) structures. The final morphologies of the two fractions are similar, consisting of IF mixed-crystal lamellae composed mainly of extended (E) chains with embedded once-folded (F2) chains. This solid-state transformation from the NIF state may proceed through the F2 state. The effect of hydrogen bonds in the case of PEO is not to change the transformation process but to slow it when compared to MPEO. Comparison with small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) data indicates that in both cases the NIF chains are tilted to the lamellar surface and that the tilt from perpendicular eventually disappears as IF chains form at the later stages of crystallization. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35: 1117–1126, 1997     

Crystallization and melting of poly(oxyethylene) analyzed by temperature-modulated calorimetry

Temperature-modulated calorimetry, TMC, is used to evaluate the temperature region of metastability between crystallization and melting. While crystals like indium can be made to melt practically reversibly during a TMC cycle of low amplitude so that sufficient crystal nuclei remain unmelted, linear macromolecules cannot, because of their need to undergo molecular nucleation. Modulation amplitudes varying from ±0.2 to ±3.0 K are used to assess the temperature gap between the slow crystallization region and the melting of metastable crystals of poly(oxyethylene) (PEO) of molar mass 1500 Da. This low molar mass PEO serves as a model compound with a metastable gap of melting/crystallization that can be bridged by TMC with a large modulation amplitude. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

1 This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 1877–1886, 1997     

Synthesis and Characterization of Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Poly(ester-imide)s

A series of thermotropic liquid crystalline poly(ester-imide)s was synthesized by melt polymerization of diacetoxynaphthalene acid and n-(ω-carboxyalkylene) trimellitic imides. All polymers with 2,6 substituent positions (n-2,6 PEIM) on the napthalene ring exhibit liquid crystalline phases, whereas polymers with 2,7 substituent positions (n-2,7 PEIM) do not. This result suggests that the kink structure of n-2,7 PEIMS would hinder the formation of liquid crystalline polymer. The copoly(ester-imide)s with an irregular sequence of aliphatic units and aromatic mesogens showed the liquid crystallinity with the lower transition temperatures and a lesser tendency to crystallize than homopoly(ester-imide)s. The semicrystalline polymers with more regular monomeric sequence in the main chain showed the hysteresis of viscoelastic property in the temperature cycle. A nematic glassy copolymer gave the higher molecular orientation to the fiber than a semicrystalline polymer. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of Selected Parameters on Crystallization of Copper Sulphate Pentahydrate

Different batch cooling modes (quick and slow cooling with constant cooling rate, program-med cooling with nearly constant supersaturation) of copper sulphate aqueous solutions have been studied in order to find best conditions for the investigation of the effect of additives on crystallization. Three types of additives (solvents, ionic substances and surfactants) have been used and their effect on crystal size, habit and yield was studied.     

Crystal Growth and Structural Refinements of the Y2SiO5, Y2Si2O7 and LaBSiO5 Single Crystals

The laser crystals of chromium doped yttrium oxyorthosilicate (YSO) were grown from the melt by Czochralski technique. The crystals of YSO, yttrium pyrosilicate and stillwellite-like lanthanum borosilicate were obtained from high temperature solutions. Lithium and potassium di- and trimolybdates were used as fluxes in the growth experiments on silicate crystals. In the case of borosilicate crystals, the choice of fluxes was based on the potassium trimolybdate with an excess of potassium fluoride. The composition of grown crystals was studied by electron microprobe analysis, and structural characteristics were determined for all the single crystals.     

The Characteristics of the Mixed Crystals of the K2SO4-(NH4)2SO4-H2O System at 298 K

Equilibrium studies of the K₂SO₄-(NH₄)₂SO₄-H₂O system at 298 K have been conducted. The isotherm of solubility and the curve of distribution have been mathematically described. The parameters of the crystal lattice and the enthalpy of crystallization of the [K_x(NH₄)_1-x]₂SO₄ solid solutions as a function of their composition have been presented.     

未添加晶种结晶过程的中后期动力学模拟

以KNO₃-H₂O为模型体系, 考察了未添加晶种的间歇结晶过程动力学, 将历经爆发成核后的结晶体系近似为添加晶种的结晶体系. 并结合光学关联方法, 推导了可描述历经爆发成核后的晶体形成和生长速率模型. 模型中含有可反映结晶固相信息的透光率变量, 从而避免了以往模型仅靠液相浓度数据求解模型参数的不便. 运用该模型拟合未添加晶种结晶过程的中后期实验数据, 得到了KNO₃晶体的二次成核和生长动力学参数, 参数结果与文献中报道的添加晶种结晶过程的参数值相近. 在此基础上, 针对添加晶种的结晶过程, 提出了晶种添加量的定量设计方法, 并得到了实验的初步验证.     

Crystallization of side chains in copolymers of ethylene and 1-alkenes

The phase structure of random copolymers of ethylene and ethylene-d₄ with 1-octadecene and other 1-alkenes has been investigated. CPMAS ¹³C NMR spectra show that a fraction of the central sections of C₁₆H₃₃ side chains in ethylene-d₄ copolymers are in ordered environments at 298 K. They give rise to resonances from 32.9 ppm to 33.8 ppm, which show that they are in trans conformations; T_1C values for this group of resonances range from 1 s to 7 s. The remaining side chains are in an amorphous environment, the internal methylenes having a chemical shift of 30.8 ppm and a T_1C close to 0.4 s. A Raman band at 1062 cm⁻¹ in the spectrum of an ethylene-d₄-1-octadecene copolymer is consistent with partial crystallization of side chains. Some side-chain crystallization also occurs in a 1-tetradecene copolymer. X-ray diffraction studies suggest that smaller side chains do not crystallize to a significant extent at 298 K. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.