polymer materials by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and in situ X-ray measurements. Furthermore, by
combining the results of these thermal measurements with real space observations using an electron microscope, we
clarified the correlation between thermal behavior and structure/property in polymer materials. We discussed the phase
transition behavior from the orthorhombic phase into the hexagonal phase during heating of melt- drawn ultrahighmolecular-
weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) samples with different molecular weight characteristics, and revealed that
the perfection of the phase transition and the width of the temperature window of the hexagonal phase during heating of
melt-drawn UHMW-PE samples depend on their higher-order structure reflecting molecular weight characteristics. The
melting behavior of polyethylene/polystyrene diblock copolymer (PE-b-PS) isothermally crystallized at different
crystallization temperatures (Tc) was investigated. DSC melting thermograms for PE-b-PS isothermally crystallized at
different Tcs were measured, and a deconvolution analysis was performed. The deconvolution analysis of DSC profiles
was useful for evaluating the constitution of crystalline domains in the bicontinuous crystalline/amorphous structure of
isothermally crystallized PE-b-PS.
Keywords:polymer materials, higher-order structure, phase transition, melting, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), in situ X-ray measurement
Publication Date: 2022-04-25