Lattice sizes, crystallinities, and spacing between amorphous chains - characterization of ethene-/α-olefin copolymers with various comonomers and comonomer contents measured by wide angle X-ray scattering

Ethene-/α-olefin copolymers having a wide range of comonomer contents with comonomers between 4 and 26 carbon atoms in length were characterized by wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). It was found that the crystallinities matched fairly well with the crystallinities from DSC and volumetric measurements. An increase of the crystal lattice size was found with increasing comonomer content and comonomer length. Both are attributed to the formation of defects around these short-chain branches in the crystal lattice, which widen it. Increasing the cooling time will lead to a more densely packed crystal structure, if the quenched structure is distorted, i.e. if the sample contains comonomer. A higher molar mass M_w widens the average space between chains in the amorphous phase as well as the addition of comonomer. The latter finding is explained by the increasing number of chain ends introduced by the comonomer which increases the free volume in the sample because of the worse amorphous packing of the chain ends.