Abstract
The crystallization and melting behavior of a polyethylene blend during cooling and subsequent heating at 10°C/min is compared to melting after cooling by fast quenching. The blend contains 15% linear polyethylene and 85% of a homogeneous (5.2 mole% 1-octene) ethylene copolymer. The components separate on a micrometer length scale during cooling at 10°C/min and crystallize separately. Quenching results in cocrystallization without pronounced component segregation. Very local segregation, however, occurs during heating as these (co)crystals repeatedly melt, recrystallize and remelt. This recrystallization occurs at high supercooling and is accordingly so fast that it cannot be suppressed by increasing the heating rate in a standard Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). Consequently, the DSC melting traces after quenching cannot be used to identify crystal populations that are related to the preceding cooling history. The structural changes are studied using Small Angle Light Scattering, synchrotron Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Wide Angle X-ray Diffraction and Atomic Force Microscopy.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
