Effect of molecular weight on the crystalline structure of polytetrafluoroethylene as-polymerized

Melting and crystallization behavior of polytetrafluoroethylene as polymerized in emulsion and suspension is shown to depend on molecular weight. DSC heating curves for virgin PTFE with low molecular weight below 3 × 10⁵ have a single peak, whereas curves for higher molecular weight samples have double peaks. With increasing heating rate the areas of higher melting peaks become larger than the lower melting peaks. The morphology of polymer exhibiting double melting peaks is mainly folded ribbons or granular particles. The phenomenon of double melting is explained on the basis of two different crystalline states which correspond to the “fold regions” and the “linear segments” in a folded ribbon. The melting temperature of virgin PTFE is almost constant at ca. 330°C for molecular weights below 1 × 10⁶, and rises as the molecular weight increases above 1 × 10⁶. The heat of melting of virgin PTFE is nearly independent of molecular weight. On the basis of these results, we propose a model for melting and crystallization of low and high molecular weight PTFE and for the crystal structure.