Abstract
Melting behavior under constrained state was studied for two kinds of commercial ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (PE) fibers with different molecular weights by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray measurement. DSC melting curves of constrained samples were compared with those of unconstrained ones. It was shown that the constrained sample mainly melts through two endothermic peaks 2 and 3, while the unconstrained sample mainly melts through single endothermic peak 1 whose peak temperature is lower than those of peaks 2 and 3. These peak temperatures were very reproducible for each sample. Peak 1 of the unconstrained sample was attributed to the melting of orthorhombic phase composed of so-called extended-chain crystals. On the other hand, based on the X-ray data, peaks 2 and 3 of the constrained sample were assigned to a transition orthorhombic to hexagonal phase and a melting of the hexagonal phase, respectively. Based on the visual observation, peak 3 was also shown to be accompanied by the break and rapid thermal-contraction of the sample. These peculiar transition and melting mechanisms of PE under the constrained state were discussed on the basis of a free energy diagram that can explain the experimental results successfully.
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Tsubakihara, S., Nakamura, A. & Yasuniwa, M. Melting and Crystallization of Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene with Appearance of Hexagonal Phase I. Melting Processes of Fibers under Constrained State. Polym J 28, 489–495 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.28.489
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.28.489
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