Open AccessDirect imaging of polyethylene crystallites within block copolymer microdomains
Author(s) -
Loo YuehLin,
Register Richard A.,
Adamson Douglas H.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of polymer science part b: polymer physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.65
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1099-0488
pISSN - 0887-6266
DOI - 10.1002/1099-0488(20001001)38:19<2564::aid-polb80>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - crystallite , materials science , copolymer , lipid microdomain , transmission electron microscopy , crystallinity , polymer chemistry , polyethylene , polymer , chemical engineering , lamellar structure , small angle x ray scattering , scattering , composite material , chemistry , nanotechnology , optics , biochemistry , membrane , engineering , metallurgy , physics
Ruthenium tetroxide (RuO 4 ) is a versatile agent for imparting mass density contrast to saturated hydrocarbon polymers. We have successfully employed RuO 4 to examine the microdomain and crystallite morphologies of poly(ethylene‐ block ‐vinylcyclohexane) semicrystalline–glassy diblock copolymers via transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Ultrathin sections cut from blocks stained with RuO 4 showed excellent contrast in TEM, revealing the individual polyethylene crystallites that formed within the preexisting block copolymer microdomains. The size and orientation of the crystallites, which previously could only be inferred from scattering data, are readily apparent in the micrographs. Moreover, such imaging directly reveals the lateral extent of the crystallites and the number of crystallites lying within the cross section of each microdomain. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 2564–2570, 2000