The crystal structure and drawing‐induced polymorphism in poly(aryl ether ketone)s, 2. Poly(ether ether ketone ketone), PEEKK

The crystal structure, morphology and polymorphism induced by uniaxial drawing of poly(ether ether ketone ketone) [PEEKK] have been studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction (ED) and wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD). On the basis of WAXD and ED patterns, the crystal structure of unoriented PEEKK is determined to have two‐chain orthorhombic packing with unit cell parameters of a = 0.772 nm, b = 0.600 nm, c = 1.004 nm (form I). A stress‐induced crystal modification (form II) is identified and found to possess a two‐chain orthorhombic lattice with unit cell dimensions of a = 0.461 nm, b = 1.074 nm, c = 1.080 nm. The 7.5% increase in c ‐axis dimension for form II is attributed to an overextended chain conformation, arising from extensional deformation during uniaxial drawing and fixed “in‐situ” through strain‐induced crystallization. The average ether‐ketone bridge bond angles in form II crystal are determined to be 148.9° by using standard bond lengths. The crystal morphology of PEEKK bears a great similarity to that of PEEK. The crystals grow in the form of spherulites and have the b ‐axis of unit cell radial. The effects of draw rate on strain‐induced crystallization and induction of form II structure are also discussed.