CONFORMATIONS OF MACROMOLECULES IN CONDENSED PHASES

Evidence demonstrating that configurations of polymers in the amorphous state are unperturbed by intermolecular interactions with neighboring chains is reviewed, with particular emphasis on recent results of neutron scattering by mixtures of deuterated and protonated species. Extension of this technique to larger angles than those required for determination of the radius of gyration establishes close agreement between intersegment correlations in a polymer chain in the amorphous state and those within the isolated chain, even at distances as small as 10A. Neutron scattering studies have been especially useful in discerning the nature of the molecular morphology at the crystal-amorphous interface.