On chain conformations and spherulitic growth in monodisperse n-C294H590

The morphology of the melt-crystallized monodisperse long-chain paraffin n-C294H590 has been investigated by optical and electron microscopy. Spherulites form in this material, notwithstanding the absence of impurities, but only when the constituent lamellae contain chainfolded molecules, not when there is extended-chain crystallization. The optical distinction carries through to the lamellar microstructure with the observation that spherulites are constructed with a dominant/subsidiary framework. As chainfolding implies the existence of molecular cilia during growth while extended-chain crystallization does not, these conditions on the formation of spherulites provide strong support for the previously postulated central role of pressure from molecular cilia in the development of spherulitic growth. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.