The mechanism of thickness selection in the Sadler-Gilmer model of polymer crystallization

Abstract

Recent work on the mechanism of polymer crystallization has led to a proposal for the mechanism of thickness selection which differs from those proposed by the surface nucleation theory of Lauritzen and Hoffman and the entropic barrier model of Sadler and Gilmer. This has motivated us to reexamine the model used by Sadler and Gilmer. We again find a fixed-point attractor which describes the dynamical convergence of the crystal thickness to a value just larger than the minimum stable thickness, l_min. This convergence arises from the combined effect of two constraints on the length of stems in a layer: it is unfavourable for a stem to be shorter than l_min and for a stem to overhang the edge of the previous layer. The relationship between this new mechanism and the explanation given by Sadler and Gilmer in terms of an entropic barrier is discussed. We also examine the behaviour of the Sadler-Gilmer model when an energetic contribution from chain folds is included.

arXiv comment15 pages, 13 figures, revtex

References in corpus (3)

• Spinodal-assisted crystallization in polymer melts
• Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of the growth of polymer crystals
• The physical determinants of the thickness of lamellar polymer crystals

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Kinetic Equations for Diffusion in the Presence of Entropic Barriers
• Current in a three-dimensional periodic tube with unbiased forces
• A molecular dynamics simulation of polymer crystallization from oriented amorphous state
• Phase shift induces currents in a periodic tube
• Property Decoupling across the Nucleus-Melt Interface during Polymer Crystal Nucleation
• Computer simulations of the mechanism of thickness selection in polymer crystals