Folded chain model of highly drawn polyethylene

Neither the fringed-micelle, fringed-fibril or extreme folded-chain models explain the morphological and mechanical properties of highly drawn polyethylene. The modified folded-chain model, assuming that a substantial fraction (between 5 and 30 percent) of the molecules do not fold back at the crystal surface but go through the “amorphous” surface layer and enter the next crystal, avoids the insufficiencies of the above mentioned models. The elastic modulus and tensile strength of drawn polyethylene, both increasing with draw ratio, are to a large extent the consequence of the molecules bridging the quasi-amorphous layers and interconnecting the folded-chain lamellae oriented more-or-less perpendicular to the machine direction. The folds create enough space for the accommodation of more-or-less extended tie molecules in the quasi-amorphous layers between the lamellae. Electron microscopy and calorimetry of samples as drawn, annealed and/or etched with fuming nitric acid support the model.