Inclusion of Perfluoromethyl Groups in the Crystals of Copolymers of Tetrafluoroethylene and Hexafluoropropylene.

Abstract

X-ray diffraction has been used to measure the separation of the molecular axes as a function of temperature, lamella thickness, and comonomer concentration in copolymers of tetrafluoroethylene and hexafluoropropylene. These data show that the increase of separation with increasing concentration of perfluoromethyl groups is a consequence of inclusion of the groups in the crystals and not an artifact associated with lamella thickness or crystal transition temperature. This conclusion is supported by the fact that diffuseness of some of the x-ray reflections in the copolymers indicates the presence of molecular disorder which might be expected from inclusion of the perfluoromethyl groups in the crystals. The lamellas in the copolymers are thinner than those in the typical homopolymer and this aspect of the structure is the primary cause of the lower density in the copolymers. Analysis of the available data indicates that this is also the situation in copolymers of ethylene and propylene. For both copolymer series, the density of the lamellas is apparently increased by the inclusion of the methyl groups in the crystals as defects.