| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/M66493/01 |
| Title: |
PHYSICAL TEXTURE,KINETICS AND CELLULATION IN MONODISPERSE N-ALKANES AND THEIR BLENDS |
| Principal Investigator: |
Bassett, Professor D |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Department: |
Physics |
| Organisation: |
University of Reading |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 April 1999 |
Ends: |
31 March 2002 |
Value (£): |
190,790
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The study of monodisperse n-alkanes has been undertaken to resolve outstanding issues in polymeric crystallization and the generation of physical texture free from the complications of polydispersity. Our previous work has already confirmed that the fundamental cause of spherulitic growth is molecular length. The divergence of adjacent dominant lamellae by ~20o, which creates equivalent radii within a spherical envelope, results from pressure of those portions of partly-crystallized molecules which are outside lamellar surfaces, namely cilia. It is now proposed to build on preliminary experiments on binary blends which show that they offer an excellent means of quantifying the various phenomena related to the influence of (transient) ciliation during crystallization. A small minority of longer molecules gives control over cilium length, slows the kinetics and produces much finer-textured spherulites than the host. A small minority of shorter molecules which can not crystallize not only slows the kinetics but makes them non-linear as for cellulation. Experiments will be undertaken to measure how the length and number of cilia affects texture and kinetics as underpinning science for the whole of crystalline polymers. Factors determining the characteristic dimensions of the newly discovered phenomenon of cellulation and its role in polymers will also be investigated.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.rdg.ac.uk |