Quantification of Stacking Faults in b-Form Single Crystals of Syndiotactic Polystyrene (STATES AND STRUCTURES-Polymer Condensed States)

Abstract

The b-form single crystals of syndiotactic polystyrene, each of which inevitably contains the stacking faults, were grown isothermally from dilute solution at a crystallization temperature, Tc, ranging from 150 to 210°C. Theoretical treatment based on our structure model of the fault well explained the characteristic features of the electron diffraction patterns. Then the probability of presence of the fault was estimated for each Tc by measauring the mean half-breadth of the streaked reflections in the patterns. The probability thus estimated was in good agreement with that obtained from the number of the faults in a unit length: the number was counted directly in the high-resolution and/or the dark-field images taken by transmission electron microscopy.