Morphology of polytetrafluoroethylene prepared by radiation‐induced emulsion polymerization

The original morphology of polytetrafluoroethylene prepared by radiation‐induced emulsion polymerization was studied by electron microscopy. The morphology depends on molecular weight, which in turn depends on polymerization conditions, especially the emulsifier concentration. The molecular weight decreases with increasing emulsifier concentration. The morphology changes with molecular weight roughly as follows: fibrils below 10 5 , rods between 10 5 and 5 × 10 5 , and granular particle above 10 6 . The crystallinity is high for all morphologies.