The morphology of crystalline polymers

This article is a short reveiw of the development of our knowledge on the texture of crystalline polymers. It begins by quoting the conventional fringed micelle model which has proved so useful for much of the earlier workon the crystallization in polymers. It is shown further how gradually new ideas had to be invoked in order to account for further textural elements. The most widely observed of these is the spherulite. It is desired that these spherulites have a characterstics fibrous morphology and may offer consist of twisted crystalline elements. The orientation of the molecules within the spherulites and the relation between observation on spherulites and studies of the kinetic of crystallization is briefly dicussed. Recent observations on polymer single crystals are quoted in some detail. It is shown that these observations establish a hitherto unsuspected link between crystals of polymeric and simple substances, while on the other hand, they necessite the introduction of a new concept, the concept of chain‐folding. Owing to the folded chain configuration such crystals havs some unusual properties, some of which are briefly described, thus lesding up to the most recent developments in the subject. The possible connections between the various textural elements are dicussed in brief together with some generalizations which seem to emerge at present.