Polytetrafluoroethylene , disordered conformation

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). 

Crystalline polymers characterized by disordered conformations of the chains are, for instance, polytetrafluoroethylene [10-12,49-54], cis-l,4-poly (isoprene) [100-102] and trans-1,4-poly( 1,3-butadiene) [8,9,55-58]. In these cases, disorder does not destroy the crystallinity because of the similar shape of the various conformational units. The occmrence of cases of conformational isomorphism of the first kind demonstrates that a polymer chain can remain straight, as if it was constrained to run inside the walls of a tight cylinder, while its conformational freedom remains of the same order of magnitude as that in the melt. 

The thermal data on possible condis crystals are collected in Table 8. Substantial entropy gains are observed at the disordering transition, but variations are large, depending on the amount of conformational mobility gained. When compared to the total entropy of fusion, the listed entropies of disordering vary from 30 %, for polytetrafluoroethylene, to close to 100% for the polyphosphazenes. 

Conformationally disordered crystals (condis crystals) were discovered in the 1980 s. They show positional and orientational order, but are partially or fully conformationally mobile. The condis crystals complete the comparison of mesophases in Figs. 2.103 and 2.107. Linear, flexible molecules can show chain mobility that leaves the position and orientation of the molecule unchanged, but introduces large-amplitude conformational motion about the chain axis. Again, the symmetry of the molecule is in this case increased. Condis crystals have often a hexagonal, columnar crystal structure. Typical examples of condis crystals are the high-temperature phase of polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, frawj-1,4-polybutadiene, and the low-temperature phases of soaps, lipids and other liquid-crystal forming, flexible molecules. 

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