Defect orientation on the chain folded surfaces of two-arm poly(ethylene oxide) lamellar crystals

Crystallization of Poly(ethylene oxide) with a Well-Defined Point Defect in the Middle of the Polymer Chain

“…Theoretically, this might be possible due to the small size of a triazole ring of 2.12 Å (without substituents) compared to the helix–helix distance of about 4.6 Å in the unit cell of PEO. This result is completely new since previous results indicate only that phthalic acid derivative defects might be arranged perpendicular to the lamellar basal surface of a folded PEO crystal . The SAXS trace of molten PEO 11 -TR-PEO 11 at T = 30 °C shows no remaining peak, suggesting the absence of a possible phase separation between the PEO chains and triazole rings.…”

“…This result is completely new since previous results indicate only that phthalic acid derivative defects might be arranged perpendicular to the lamellar basal surface of a folded PEO crystal. 51 The SAXS trace of molten PEO 11 -TR-PEO 11 at T = 30 °C shows no remaining peak, suggesting the absence of a possible phase separation between the PEO chains and triazole rings. This is in agreement with the fact that liquid 1,2,3-triazole is a good solvent for PEO which is additionally verified experimentally using PEO 22 and liquid 1,2,3-triazole.…”

Defects and defect engineering in Soft Matter

“…Different types of defects on the molecular-scale, such as branching, irregularities, loops, crosslinking, dimerization, or missing arms, have at least been studied to some extent for polymers, which are one representative of soft matter. [62][63][64] However, no systematic use for rational materials engineering has been made from that, and so it can be stated that ''while the study of defect physics in crystalline inorganic solids is welldeveloped, a similar sophistication is currently lacking for ordered polymers''. 65 Today, even 25 years after this notion, this question is still not well-answered to scientists, as stated by Müllen, 66 who believes that one reason for this shortcoming is the goal of organic chemists to target discrete molecules and their aiming to precisely correlate their structures and properties.…”

Self-Assembling Semicrystalline Polymer into Highly Ordered, Microscopic Concentric Rings by Evaporation

“…21,22,28,29 Recently, polymer crystallization has been exploited to develop crystallization-enabled nanotechnology. 23,24 It is of considerable interest to study polymer crystallization confined at the micro-or nanoscale, including in ultrathin films, [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] semicrystalline/amorphous polymer blends, 33 dewetting of semicrystalline polymer solutions, [34][35][36][37] and semicrystalline block copolymers. [38][39][40] Furthermore, the use of microscopic and/or nanoscopic patterned surfaces made it possible to examine the effects of confinement on the primary nucleation, crystal morphologies, crystal growth rates, and crystal orientations of semicrystalline polymers.…”

“…Semicrystalline polymers, when cooled from the melt, can organize into microscopic crystalline structures (e.g., spherulites; they are optically anisotropic objects). Spherulites composed of splaying and branching thin lamellae with thickness on the order of 10 nm are often produced in thick films ( h > 1 μm), where the crystallizable phase possesses a sufficient diffusivity, and thus an edge-on orientation is favorable (i.e., crystalline lamellae are perpendicular to the substrate). , Spiral structures, on the other hand, can be readily created in thinner films ( h < 300 nm), where the molecular mobility is reduced, and a flat-on orientation is dominated (i.e., crystalline lamellae are parallel to the substrate). ,,, Recently, polymer crystallization has been exploited to develop crystallization-enabled nanotechnology. , It is of considerable interest to study polymer crystallization confined at the micro- or nanoscale, including in ultrathin films, − semicrystalline/amorphous polymer blends, dewetting of semicrystalline polymer solutions, − and semicrystalline block copolymers. − Furthermore, the use of microscopic and/or nanoscopic patterned surfaces made it possible to examine the effects of confinement on the primary nucleation, crystal morphologies, crystal growth rates, and crystal orientations of semicrystalline polymers. − …”