Crystallization Kinetics in High Polymers. II. Polymer-Diluent Mixtures

The rates of crystallization of two polymer-diluent mixtures, poly-(ethylene oxide)-diphenyl ether and poly-(decamethylene adipate)-dimethyl formamide were studied at various temperatures ranging from 6° to 15° below the melting points of the mixtures. The various mixtures investigated encompassed a wide range of compositions; the volume fraction of the diluent v1 ranged from about 0.10 to 0.70. The crystallization behavior observed was strikingly similar to that previously reported for bulk polymers in the first paper of this series. The results are interpreted by making the necessary modifications to the treatment previously employed wherein steady-state nucleation and growth were assumed to occur simultaneously throughout the process. Agreement obtained between theory and experiment is similar to the corresponding results for the bulk polymer.