STRESS AND THERMALLY INDUCED CRYSTALLIZATION IN CROSS-LINKED CIS-POLYBUTADIENE

Strain and thermally induced crystallization was investigated in crosslinked 1,4-cis-polybutadiene. Data obtained at room temperature, where the crystallization can be only strain induced, show that at any given deformation the elastic modulus is a simple function of the crystalline content. On this basis, the modulus data were used to analyze the crystallization phenomena under stress at low temperature. Results show that crystallization occurs with a two-stage mechanism that depends on deformation and temperature.