Abstract
Wide-angle and small-angle X-ray scattering measurements were performed simultaneously using an X-ray beam 1 μm in size to detect the inner structure of a spherulite of poly(ethylene adipate) [PEA, –(O(CH2)2OCO(CH2)4CO–)n–]. The lamellae were found to twist periodically by 180° in the area between the neighboring bright rings observed in the polarized optical microscope image of the spherulite. However, as known from the discontinuity between the repeated lamellar zones discovered by Woo et al. (Macromolecules, 45:1375–1383, 2012), the twisted lamellae must not be assumed to be continuously twisted long plates spreading out over the spherulite. Rather, these lamellae should be considered to have limited areas of ~7 μm in length along the radial direction and with disconnected end zones. The present X-ray scattering data revealed the structural relation between the repeated arrays of the disconnected lamellar blocks and the 180° twisting phenomenon, which occurs only in the finite and disconnected flat-on lamellar zones.
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Acknowledgements
The synchrotron radiation experiments were performed at the BL03XU of SPring-8 with the approval of the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) (Proposal Nos. 2011A7214, 2012A7202, 2013A7214, 2013B7262, and 2014B7262). This study was supported financially by MEXT “Strategic Project to Support the Formation of Research Bases at Private Universities (2010-2014 and 2015-2019)”.
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Appendix A
Appendix A
The SAXS and WAXD patterns of a PEA spherulite measured with an X-ray beam 8 μm in size at a stepwise pitch of 20 μm.
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Tashiro, K., Yoshioka, T., Yamamoto, H. et al. Relationship between twisting phenomenon and structural discontinuity of stacked lamellae in the spherulite of poly(ethylene adipate) as studied by the synchrotron X-ray microbeam technique. Polym J 51, 131–141 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-018-0122-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-018-0122-y
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