Abstract
The present investigation was undertaken to obtain some information on a mutual interaction between different crystalline polymers with different chemical structures, being paid our attention to the epitaxial growth of polymer crystals on the surface of the other polymers. It has been found that paraffin and polyethylene crystallized epitaxially on drawn polyoxymethylene in spite of the difference in crystal system, molecular conformation, and polarity. Longer axes of lamellar polyethylene crystallites are arrayed perpendicular to thefiber axis of polyoxymethylene. From the electron diffraction studies of the polyethylene crystals peeled off from the surface of overgrown polyethylene, it was confirmed that molecular axis of polyethylene oriented parallel to the fiber axis of polyoxymethylene. On the other hand, paraffin wax did not overgrow epitaxially on drawn cellulose II, polyvinyl alcohol, nylon-6, and polypropylene films. It seems reasonable to assume that the two-dimensional analogy in lattice spacings is necessary to the epitaxial growth of polymer crystal on polymer crystal. The lattice spacing of polyethylene along molecular chain multiplied by an integer such as 7 agrees quite well with that of polyoxymethylene, and also the lattice spacings of polyethylene in the direction perpendicular to molecular chains are closely to that of polyoxymethylene. This two-dimensional analogy in lattice spacings will be favorable to the oriented loop-type necleation on polymer surface.
