Spinodal-assisted crystallization in polymer melts

P D Olmsted, Wilson Poon, T C B McLeish, N J Terrill, A J Ryan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Recent experiments in some polymer melts quenched below the melting temperature have reported spinodal kinetics in small-angle x-ray scattering before the emergence of a crystalline structure. To explain these observations we propose that the coupling between density and chain conformation induces a liquid-liquid binodal within the equilibrium liquid-crystalline solid coexistence region. A simple phenomenological theory is developed to illustrate this idea, and several experimentally testable consequences are discussed. Shear is shown to enhance the kinetic role of the hidden binodal.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)373-376
Number of pages4
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume81
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Jul 1998

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • DENSITY-FLUCTUATIONS
  • INDUCTION PERIOD
  • POLY(ETHYLENE-TEREPHTHALATE)
  • SCATTERING
  • CRYSTAL

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