Defects in Polymer Crystals 1 Materials Properties

To understand the importance of defects in polymer crystals, one must distinguish structure-insensitive properties from structure-sensitive properties. For crystals of small molecules and rigid macromolecules (see Fig. 1.6), the structure-insensitive properties often can be derived directly from the ideal crystal structure as summarized in Fig. 5.80. The density, for example, can be calculated from the unit cell dimensions (see Sect. 5.1). The polymeric materials in form of flexible macromolecules are, in 

Density (computed from the unit cell) Hest Of fUSiOU (from CED) 

Strength (isideally1,000x stronger) Conductivity Jo J TOnd.r Deformation (ideally much stronger) Reactivity oXTurfS  

Several structure-sensitive properties are listed at the bottom of Fig. 5.80. They need, in contrast to stmcture-insensitive properties, a detailed defect mechanism to be understood, as is discussed in Sects. 5.3.3-6. The structure-sensitive properties are at the center of most of the important material properties. 

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