SYNCHROTRON STUDIES OF POLYMERS AT HIGH SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL RESOLUTION, A. Mahendrasingam, C. Martin, S. Bingham, W. Fuller and D.J. Blundell, pp. 356-365

Developments in X-ray synchrotron radiation sources and electronic area detectors have allowed the development of new X-ray diffraction techniques to investigate polymeric materials at high temporal and spatial resolution. These developments are illustrated by studies of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). The fabrication of films and containers of PET typically involves mechanical deformation at elevated temperatures close to its Tg. Such processing can have major effects on the degree of polymer orientation and crystallinity and hence on the physical properties of the material. This paper describes the time-resolved X-ray diffraction technique developed to investigate the strain-induced crystallisation in PET under industrial processing conditions with 40 milliseconds time resolution. The investigation of the structural variation in orientation and crystallinity across the wall of a container fabricated from PET using an X-ray beam as small as 2 μm diameter is also described. The potential for more general application of these techniques in the study of other polymer materials is indicated.