A Kinetic Theory on the Growth Rate of Polymer Single Crystals

Abstract

The growth of polymer crystals in a dilute solution is theoretically investigated in terms of secondary nucleation and growth. Effects of the finiteness of molecular chain length and the nucleation of cilia are considered on the basis of the kinetic theory studied by Seto and Frank. The dependence of the growth rate of polyethylene single crystals on concentration and supercooling is explained as regime II growth where the growth of lower molecular weight materials (M_w<2.5×10⁴) is controlled by the nucleation of solute molecules while that of higher ones (M_w<8×10⁴) by the nucleation of cilia.