Study of temperature dependence of crystallisation transitions of a symmetric PEO-PCL diblock copolymer using simultaneous SAXS and WAXS measurements with synchrotron radiation

Eur Phys J E Soft Matter. 2008 Dec;27(4):357-64. doi: 10.1140/epje/i2008-10385-4. Epub 2008 Nov 19.

Abstract

The reversible transitions of the lamellae of a crystalline-crystalline diblock copolymer from the melt to crystallites were studied using simultaneous small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) measurements with synchrotron radiation. A symmetric poly(ethylene oxide)-poly( varepsilon -caprolactone) diblock copolymer was chosen for this study. We showed in the course of the block copolymer crystallisation that the time-resolved integrated intensity I (int) was proportional to the product of the volume fractions of the PEO and PCL phases and the scattering contrast due to the electron density difference. These results demonstrated that simultaneous SAXS/WAXS measurements could be used to monitor the crystallisation process in two domains of different sizes at the same time.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't