Structural characterization of semicrystalline polymer morphologies by imaging-SANS

A Radulescu, L J Fetters, D Richter
2012 Journal of Physics, Conference Series  
Control and optimization of polymer properties require the global knowledge of the constitutive microstructures of polymer morphologies in various conditions. The microstructural features can be typically explored over a wide length scale by combining pinhole-, focusing-and ultra-small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) techniques. Though it proved to be a successful approach, this involves major efforts related to the use of various scattering instruments and large amount of samples and the need
more » ... o ensure the same crystallization kinetics for the samples investigated at various facilities, in different sample cell geometries and at different time intervals. With the installation and commissioning of the MgF 2 neutron lenses at the KWS-2 SANS diffractometer installed at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz neutron source (FRMII reactor) in Garching, a wide Q-range, between 10 -4 Å -1 and 0.5Å -1 , can be covered at a single instrument. This enables investigation of polymer microstructures over a length scale from 1nm up to 1μm, while the overall polymer morphology can be further examined up to 100μm by optical microscopy (including crossed polarizers). The study of different semi-crystalline polypropylene-based polymers in solution is discussed and the new imaging-SANS approach allowing for an unambiguous and complete structural characterization of polymer morphologies is presented.
doi:10.1088/1742-6596/340/1/012089 fatcat:6zicjkvgkzeobervhgmb35q7oi