Deformation of extremely thin polyethylene films

In order to establish a better correlation between the drawing mechanism of bulk polyethylene (PE) and the observation of plastic deformation of single crystals and the ensuing microfibril formation extremely thin PF films floating on hot water were deformed and studied by electron microscopy. The drawn film consists of about 300 Å wide folded chain blocks arranged in microfibrils. The chains are oriented in the microfibril axis. The lateral coalescence of the blocks into lamellae produces a surface structure of the same type as observed with bulk samples. One hence concludes that also in the latter case the destruction of the original spherulitic structure in the necking zone first produces microfibrils composed of blocks broken off a single lamella. The bundle of microfibrils from a single stack of lamellae with similar draw ratio and draw rate laterally coalesces forming a fibril, i.e. , a stack of mosaic type lamellae with rather irregular fold containing surfaces and extending over more or less the whole cross section of the fibril. In contrast with bulk samples, but in agreement with the single crystal deformation, the long period of the drawn film agrees with that of the starting material. The same situation exists with annealing which increases the long period and the order in lamellar orientation and long period, but does not produce any crystal rotation about an axis in the sample surface and perpendicular to the draw direction which is so conspicuous with drawn bulk PE.