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Polyethylene Spherulites

Abstract

THERE has been some controversy about the report that polyethylene does not produce spherulites resolvable with a light microscope1–3 but instead produces a complex birefringent mass made up of units less than 1 µm in diameter (see Figs. 1 and 2 of ref. 1). Previous reports that polyethylene readily produces spherulites, 0.1 to 1.0 mm in diameter4,5. have been attributed to the use of excessive pre-heat treatment above 250° which degrades the polymer, produces excessive thinning of the sample films and destroys nuclei. Organ (private communication), however, considers that the lack of resolution is entirely due to sample thickness effects such that the large amounts of birefringent material present cloud the contours of the spherulites, which can be clearly observed with samples of 10 µm thick or less.

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References

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BOOTH, A., HAY, J. Polyethylene Spherulites. Nature 227, 701–702 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/227701b0

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