Influence of microtomy on measurements of orientation

The correct measurement of orientation and crystallinity on thin sections microtomed from larger specimens requires a knowledge of the influence of sectioning on these properties. In this work, the measuring technique used is FTIR, using dichroism to determine the orientation and regular FTIR to determine the degree of crystallinity. This paper shows that the sectioning influences the measured orientation of the sections in the case of both amorphous polycarbonate and crystalline polypropylene, while the crystallinity seems to be unaffected in the case of the unoriented samples.