Distribution of chain defects and microstructure of melt crystallized polyethylene

A combined study using wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and small-angle X-ray diffraction (SAXD) of a series of mostly low density polyethylenes with a wide range of chain defect concentrations (0.1–7%) crystallized from the melt is reported. The data presented here complement the earlier results obtained by Swan⁷ and Holdsworth and Keller⁸ for copolymers. The concurrent unit cell expansion and long period decrease with increasing chain defect concentration leads to a picture of chain defects (branches, unsaturations) being distributed between the crystalline lamellae and the surface layer. Based on a model which assumes inclusion of defects within the lattice by means of a generation of 2gl kinks, (supported by the parallel increase of paracrystallinity) an estimation of the concentration of chain defects, ?_c, incorporated into the crystal lattice (<1%) is attempted. The density of defects in the non-crystalline regions, ?_a, turns out to be substantially larger than ?_c and supports the view of a clustering of defects, ?_c and ?_a are both increasing functions of ? with a tendency to level off for ? > 6. According to this model, the fraction of defects incorporated into the lattice does not exceed 20% of the total number of defects in any of the samples investigated. The fraction of defects excluded from the lattice (>80%), on the other hand, sets a higher permissable limit to the crystal thickness value achieved.