C. Basire et Da. Ivanov, Evolution of the lamellar structure during crystallization of a semicrystalline-amorphous polymer blend: Time-resolved hot-stage SPM study, PHYS REV L, 85(26), 2000, pp. 5587-5590
The mechanisms of polymer crystallization at the nanometer scale have been
investigated with a hot-stage scanning probe microscope (SPM). The processe
s of lamellar perfection, e.g., lamellar thickening and merging of lamellar
fragments, are revealed during the secondary crystallization stage. It is
shown that the information contained in SPM images can be comparable to tha
t of time-resolved small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). In addition, SPM op
ens the way to examine subtle structural changes that would certainly be ov
erlooked in the global morphological parameters obtained from a simple SAXS
correlation function analysis.