Origins of periodic bands in polymer spherulites

Morphological Control of Polymer Spherulites via Manipulating Radial Lamellar Organization upon Evaporative Crystallization: A Mini Review

“…This cognizance can motivate one to understand and interpret the structural formation and the underline crystallization mechanisms of diverse polymer spherulites. Woo and coworkers have performed a series of excellent works upon this topic, and the majority have been summarized in a recent review published in 2015 [9]. Moreover, the subsequently intensive studies are still in progress [18][19][20][21][22][23][24].…”

“…Section 6 outlines, respectively, the underlying origins and pertinent crystallization mechanisms for the occurrence of rhythmic growth and the periodic twisting of radial lamellae during the evaporative crystallization process with the emphasis on the unique effects of the solvent and its evaporation. We complete this review in For the topic concerning polymer spherulites, several reviews have been published [8][9][10]. Lotz and Cheng extensively analyzed the possible cause(s) for periodic twisting of lamellar crystals [10].…”

“…This feature is common to, at least, all flexible polymers despite their diversely chemical compositions, widely differing stereochemical and chain architectures, as well as various crystal structures and patterns. It is, therefore, possible to explore the crystallization and morphology of crystalline polymers from a unified standpoint that encompasses the formation and distortion of lamellae with different shapes and sizes, and the lamellar arrangement and organization [9,[12][13][14][15][16][17]. Despite polymer crystals displaying ordering at a variety of dimensional levels from interatomic spacings to macroscopic measures (as shown in Figure 1), the characteristic optical, physical, and mechanical properties, and the variably morphological features possessed by polymer aggregate crystals can be explained, to some extent, by the arrangement and assembly of a large amount of individual lamellae.…”

“…For the topic concerning polymer spherulites, several reviews have been published [8][9][10]. Lotz and Cheng extensively analyzed the possible cause(s) for periodic twisting of lamellar crystals [10].…”

“…Spherulites or spherulitic structures, as the most common and representative morphologies of crystalline polymers, can be encountered when crystalized from disordered melts or concentrated solutions [4][5][6][7][8]. Specifically, the ring-banded spherulites or spherulitic crystals have attracted massive interest because of their inherent beauty, intriguing complexity, and morphological diversity [8][9][10]. Despite the extensive number and variety of experiments and explorations over the past decades, the understanding and explanations for the structural formation and pertinent crystallization mechanisms of variably spherulitic morphologies in polymeric materials have been rather elusive [7][8][9].…”