| Abstract: | The experimental requirements for ultraviolet and fluorescence microscopy are briefly discussed. The application of these techniques to polymers usually depends upon the use of some form of staining reagent to develop contrast within the polymer and three variations of this principle are described. In the first, ultraviolet absorbing or fluorescent additives are monitored during spherulitic crystallisation of a polymer with quantitative results which demonstrate rejection of the additive by the crystalline polymer and allow the diffusion coefficient for the additive in the molten polymer to be estimated. In the second application, the equilibrium distribution of absorbing additives after crystallisation is used to reveal crystallinity variations within the sample and to study the influence of non-crystallisable fractions upon these variations. Finally, reaction of carbonyl groups, with fluorescent or absorbing reagents, in oxidised polymers, has been investigated as a way of revealing uneven oxidation in polypropylene. |
