Abstract
The hierarchical structure of spherulites grown isothermally from a melt was investigated for isotactic poly(butene-1) (it-PB-1) by analyzing wide-angle and small-angle X-ray scattering data measured simultaneously at various positions of the spherulites using a synchrotron X-ray microbeam technique. In square-shaped spherulites (hedrites) grown at 103 °C, the chain axis stands along the direction normal to the spherulite surface and the a and b axes of the original form II crystal direct in parallel to the square edges. On the other hand, for round-shape spherulites grown at 98 °C, the chain axis lies tangentially along the circle of the round spherulite surface. These spatial geometries, revealed by the X-ray microbeam method, have confirmed previously-reported results that were qualitatively derived from 2-dimensional polarized FTIR imaging experiments [J Phys Chem B. 2016;120:4689]. Surprisingly, only a 5 °C difference in the isothermal crystallization temperature gives rise to remarkably different hierarchical structures of it-PB-1, as clarified by the X-ray microbeam technique.
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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). This study was financially supported by MEXT “Strategic Project to Support the Formation of Research Bases at Private Universities (2010-2014 and 2015-2019)”.
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Tashiro, K., Yamamoto, H., Funaki, K. et al. Synchrotron microbeam X-ray scattering study of the crystallite orientation in the spherulites of isotactic poly(butene-1) crystallized isothermally at different temperatures. Polym J 51, 143–153 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-018-0128-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-018-0128-5
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