Power law of nucleation rate of folded-chain single crystals of polyethylene

The number-average molecular weight (M-n) dependence of the primary nucleat ion rate (I) of polyethylene (PE) folded-chain single crystals was studied in the ordered phase. We observed that the M-n dependence of I is mainly co ntrolled by the diffusion process of polymer chains within the interface be tween a nucleus and the melt and/or within the nucleus. The results show th at I decreases with increasing M-n and follows a power law I proportional t o M-n(-2.3) for the ordered phase. It is named the power law of the nucleat ion rate. In a previous article we showed that for the disordered phase I p roportional to M-n(-1). In this article, we concluded that I decreases with increasing M-n and follows a universal power law, I ex M-n(-H) for both or dered and disordered phases. The power H depends on the degree of order of the crystalline phase, which is related to the morphology.