Oriented Fibers of Elastomeric Samples

The samples show a complex polymorphism during tensile deformation. The relationships between the different mechanical behavior and the stress-induced phase transitions are discussed in terms of a general view, outlining the concept that stress-induced phase transitions during plastic deformation of 

Financial supports from Basell Ferrara, Italy and from the Ministero dell Istruzione, dell Universita e della Ricerca (PRIN 2004) are gratefully acknowledged. We thank Dr. Luigi Resconi of Basell for providing the polymer samples and for having stimulated this study. 

Insights into Polymer Crystallization from In-situ Atomic Force Microscopy 

Department of Chemistry, University of Sheffield, Dainton Building, Brook Hill, 

Despite more than fifty years of intensive study, some aspects of the process of crystalhzation in polymers remain poorly understood and hotly debated. Arguably, this is not surprising - as we delve deeper into any system, and attempt to understand in more detail how it is affected by ever increasing levels of complexity of initial conditions, it is hard, or maybe impossible, to maintain a grasp of simplifying and unifying principals. At the same time, the development of new techniques, and improvements in older methods, open up new areas of study and pose new questions that have rarely been predicted by existing theories. 

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