Crystalline polymer conformation

In concluding this discussion, it is important to point out that crystalline polymers can be polymorphic because of slight differences in the conformation of the helical disposition of stereoregular polymer chains the polymorphism is attributable to differences in the weak intermolecular bonds. This abstruse phenomenon (which does not have the same centrality in polymer science as it does in inorganic materials science) is treated by Lotz and Wittmann (1993). 

In some crystalline polymers chemical shift differences between crystalline and amorphous phases have been observed and interpreted and for several crystalline forms the signals to be attributed to nuclei in different conformational environments have been identified [111, 112]. 

In addition to quantitative crystallinity data, IR and Raman have been proven valuable tools to extract information on chain conformation in the three major phases [112-114], local order in amorphous polymers [115,116] high throughput characterization [117] and structural and polymorphic changes on heating and cooling semi-crystalline polymers [118-120]. 

Table 3 Data relative to selected crystalline polymers for which only chiral crystalline phases, characterized by chiral helical conformations, are known... 

The conformation of the chains of isotactic polymers in the crystalline state is generally helical and corresponds to a succession of nearly trans and gauche torsion angles, the exact values depending on the bulkiness of the side groups. Molecular mechanics calculations have been extensively used for the prediction of the chain conformation of polymers in the crystal.29... 

Crystalline polymers characterized by disordered conformations of the chains are, for instance, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), /ra .s-1,4-poly (1,3-butadiene), and cis-1,4-poly(isoprcnc). 

The infrared absorption spectra of the same polymer in the crystalline and amorphous states may differ because of the following two reasons (i) Specific intermolecular interactions may exist in the crystalline polymer which lead to sharpening or splitting of certain bands and (ii) Some specific conformations may exist in one but not the other phase, which may lead to bands characteristic exclusively of either crystalline or amorphous material. For example in polyethylene terepthalate), the 0CH2CH20 portion of each repeat unit is restricted to the all trans-conformation in the crystal, but... 

The most relevant property of stereoregular polymers is their ability to crystallize. This fact became evident through the work of Natta and his school, as the result of the simultaneous development of new synthetic methods and of extensive stractural investigations. Previously, the presence of crystalline order had been ascertained only in a few natural polymers (cellulose, natural rubber, bal-ata, etc.) and in synthetic polymers devoid of stereogenic centers (polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyamids, polyesters, etc.). After the pioneering work of Meyer and Mark (70), important theoretical and experimental contributions to the study of crystalline polymers were made by Bunn (159-161), who predicted the most probable chain conformation of linear polymers and determined the crystalline structure of several macromolecular compounds. 

Calculations of conformational energy made by means of molecular mechanics fully confirm these conclusions. Such calculations were first introduced into the examination of synthetic crystalline polymers by Liquori and co-workers (175, 176) and were extensively used by Natta, Corradini, Allegra, Ganis, and co-workers (168, 177-179). The conformational energy map of isotactic poly-... 

The recommendations embodied in this document are concerned with the terminology relating to the structure of crystalline polymers and the process of macromolecular crystallization. The document is limited to systems exhibiting crystallinity in the classical sense of three-dimensionally periodic regularity. The recommendations deal primarily with crystal structures that are comprised of essentially rectilinear, parallel-packed polymer chains, and secondarily, with those composed of so-called globular macromolecules. Since the latter are biological in nature, they are not covered in detail here. In general, macromolecular systems with mesophases are also omitted, but crystalline polymers with conformational disorder are included. 

After a listing of some general definitions relating to crystalline polymers (Section 1), the subject is divided into sections dealing, successively, with local structural arrangements at the scale of a few bond lengths (Section 2), morphological aspects (Section 3), molecular conformation within polymer crystals (Section 4) and, finally, kinetic aspects of crystallization (Section 5). An alphabetical index of terms is provided for the convenience of the reader. 

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