The Effect of Some Physical Factors on the II → I Phase Transition of Isotactic Polybutene-1

Abstract

Isotactic polybutene-1 exhibits excellent physical, mechanical and chemical properties dependent on its most important polymorphic crystal forms, called forms I, II and III. The most stable form, form I, is generated via a slow, solid-state transformation of the tetragonal, kinetically favored form II. The slow transformation rate of form II to I, accompanied by sample shrinkage, attains its maximum at ca 25 °C and takes 7–10 days, which is a technical problem for iPB-1 practical applications. We describe here the results reported in the literature by the authors and others of the effect of various physical factors that affect the transformation rate, with the goal of determining means of accelerating it; it is noted explanations of the effects are limited and in many cases, not given.