Epitaxially crystallized polyethylene exhibiting near‐equilibrium melting temperatures*

Abstract

The morphology and orientation of polymer crystals are important factors which determine the performance of thin-film, polymer-based technologies such as organic electronic devices and gas separation membranes. Here, we utilize polymer-substrate epitaxy to achieve a highly oriented crystalline morphology during thin-film processing. To accomplish this, we employ matrixassisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE), a slow physical vapor deposition process, to deposit linear polyethylene epitaxially atop a graphene substrate.Via MAPLE, we demonstrate the ability to achieve a film morphology comprised of well-aligned, edge-on crystalline lamellae. Furthermore, we show that MAPLE can be exploited to grow crystalline lamellae composed entirely of extended polymer chains which exhibit a near-equilibrium melting temperature. Our study demonstrates that MAPLE, as a bottom-up approach, can deposit polymer thin films with improved control over crystalline morphology.

Graphene Nanoplatelets’ Effect on the Crystallization, Glass Transition, and Nanomechanical Behavior of Poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) Nanocomposites

“…Generally, lower T m 0 is a result of a lower molecular weight. However, the PEF/0.5 GNPs have a lower M n value compared to neat PEF, but a higher T m 0, which suggests their higher degree of crystal perfection due to the presence of GNPs in the polymer [ 34 ]. This applies to the PEF/1 GNPs, whose M n is close to that of PEF.…”

Editorial: In honor of Gregory B. McKenna's contributions to the field of polymer science

“…The question of unifying ion conductivity and stability in membranes and how to solve it by an aligned microstructure is tackled by Pitia et al [ 8 ] Methods to produce microfibers for battery application by means of polymer precursors are presented by Gabriel Gonzalez et al [ 9 ] Polymers with high intrinsic microporosity for gas‐separation membranes are studied by a combination of dynamical methods by Kolmangadi et al [ 10 ] Yucheng Wang et al [ 11 ] use a similar technique as used in ref. [7] for surface decoration here as a preparative tool to obtain highly oriented crystalline polymer layers.…”