Annealing of polypropylene films crystallized from a highly extended melt

Abstract

Abstract Thin films of isotactic polypropylene were drawn from the melt at a very high rate of extension. Transmission electron micrographs of this material reveal fibrous crystals lying along the draw direction. The chain axis and fiber axis are identical. Dark field micrographs show a dark/light modulation along the fiber axis. Annealing at temperatures below 110°C produces no qualitative change in the electron microscope observations. Annealing between 110 and 150°C produces gradual dominance of lamellar crystals, oriented normal to the draw direction. Small‐angle x‐ray scattering (SAXS) data exhibit a strong streaking normal to the fiber axis, in broad agreement with the observed fibrosity. A Bragg peak along the draw directions shows that the modulation observed microscopically is a density modulation. The absence of second‐order maxima and the dependence of the SAXS peak on treatment temperature strongly suggest that the axial modulation is a spinodal decomposition of the material into crystalline and amorphous regions.