Morphology of crystalline–amorphous olefin block copolymers in solution characterized by small‐angle neutron scattering and microscopy

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc

E-ISSN: 1600-5767|48|6|1860-1869

ISSN: 0021-8898

Source: JOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY (ELECTRONIC), Vol.48, Iss.6, 2015-12, pp. : 1860-1869

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Abstract

The single‐chain properties and self‐assembly behavior in dilute solution of olefin block copolymers obtained by chain‐shuttling technology and consisting of alternating crystallizable and amorphous ethylene/1‐octene blocks were investigated by pinhole and focusing small‐angle neutron scattering techniques, optical microscopy in bright‐field and crossed‐polarizer modes, and differential scanning calorimetry. The complex hydrocarbon soluble (precipitant free) macro‐aggregates formed with decreasing temperature are characterized by spherulitic textures. The spherulites yield, on one hand, a morphology that depends on the chain structure properties and, on the other hand, multiple structural levels with a hierarchical organization that ranges from 10 Å up to tens of micrometres. This morphology displays peculiarities dictated by the polydisperse character of these materials.