Spherulite Similar Structures in Amorphous Polymers,

On the basis of a number of direct and indirect experimental results, old concepts were examined and a new concept of the structure of a amorphous polymers was developed. According to this concept, amorphous polymers are well ordered systems, which in the glass like, highly elastic and viscous states can be constructed of individual macromolecules in the form of globules or from convoluted macromolecules, which are assembled in fibrillar formations, which are called packets. The existence of a complete unordered state of macromolecules is a rare exception and not the rule. A characteristic feature of the structural formation of amorphous polymers is a tendency to self-spontaneous formation of correct anisotropic with large dimensions and further aggregation to the formation of more complex structures. This tendency to self organization of amorphous polymers has been established for irregular statistical copolymers which form geometrically correct structure. In the most general case these formations are characterized by optical anisotropic, but they have amorphous defractional aspect of the electron or x-ray rays. An interesting object of study in this direction is polymethylmethacrylate PMMA. We obtained double ray refracting hexagons in thick films of a mixture of atactic and syndiotactic PMMA, which exhibit amorphous x-rays. In mixtures of PMMA with crystalline polyesters one can observe intermediate structures, which differ in dimensions from spherulites and spherulitic fragments of pure crystallizing polymers.