Differential scanning calorimetry, small-angle X-ray scattering, and wide-angle X-ray scattering on homogeneous and heterogeneous ethylene-α-copolymers

The objective of this work was to use both X-ray and differential scanning calorimetry techniques in a comparative study of the lamellar and crystalline structures of heterogeneous and homogeneous ethylene-a-copolymers. The samples differed in the comonomer type (1-butene, 1-hexene, 1-octene, and hexadecene), comonomer content, and catalyst used in the polymerizations. Step crystallizations were performed with differential scanning calorimetry, and the crystallinity and lamellar thicknesses of the different crystal populations were determined. Wide-angle X-ray scattering was used to determine crystallinities, average sizes of the crystallites, and dimensions of the orthorhombic unit cell. The average thickness, separation of the lamellae, and volume fractions of the crystalline phase were determined by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The results revealed that at densities below 900 kg/m(3), polymers were organized as poorly organized crystal bundles. The lamellar distances were smaller and the lamellar thickness distributions were narrower for the homogeneous ethylene copolymers than for the heterogeneous ones. Step-crystallization experiments by SAXS demonstrated that the long period increased after annealing. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 1860-1875, 2001.