Polysulfide containing s-triazine rings as a new thermoplastic elastomer: spherulite morphology and strain recovery behaviour

A new polymer, polysulfide containing s-triazine rings, was found to be crystalline but it showed an excellent strain recovery after large deformation; residual strain was less than 10% after 25-400% elongation. The elastic recovery was much better than low density polyethylene (LDPE), a typical rubber-like crystalline polymer. As in the case of LDPE, a four-leaf clover pattern in H-v (cross-polarized) light scattering was observed, suggesting the formation of spherulites. The H-v pattern deformed with bulk deformation and recovered to the original pattern after releasing, without any change in the disorder parameter of orientation correlation. The reversible change in scattering pattern suggests that the spherulite itself is highly elastic and it may render the elastomeric character in bulk. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.