Structural changes in the grafted copolymer polyethylene-styrene

The general method for phase analysis was used on X-ray diffractograms of copolymers produced by the direct and the indirect method of grafting styrene to polyethylene. It was established that both copolymer systems show small deviations from a two-phase structure. Up to a polyethylene to polystyrene ratio of 1:1 the grafting process did not cause any substantial change in crystalline structure. Crystallites were not destroyed in either system. The main structural changes resulting from grafting appeared in disordered regions of polyethylene. The diffraction curves determined for individual structural states are discussed and used as a basis to construct structural models.