Methods of Analysis Used for SAXS on Semicrystalline Polymers

3 Methods of Analysis Used for SAXS on Semicrystalline Polymers 

In a good approximation, the morphology of a semicrystalline polymer can be described as a lamellar two-phase system consisting of crystalline and amorphous phases with different electron densities and with sharp boundaries between them. This structure gives rise to a peak in the scattering intensity 

1 Correlation Function and Interface Distribution Function Typically, the lateral dimensions of the lamellar stacks in the sample are large compared to the interlamellar distance L therefore, only the electron density distribution along the normal of the lamellar stacks, here denoted as z-direction, changes within the relevant length scale of a SAXS experiment (1-100 nm). Hence, g(f) from Equation 9.11 reduces to the one-dimensional correlation function K(z). 

As the lamellar stacks are isotropically distributed inside the sample, the intensity in s direction is distributed over the surface of a sphere with radius 

The reverse Fourier relation, using the nomenclature of Weaver [9], gives 

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