Molecular and supramolecular paracrystalline structure of linear synthetic high polymers

The paracrystalline state is a quite common state for all kinds of matter. Paracrystalline distortions arise, for instance, in solid‐solution crystals. From x‐ray scattering they are experimentally observed in polyethylene and polyethylene oxide. Values of g of about 2% for the mosaic blocks in single crystals and of 3% for the ultrafibrils in bulk material are found. The ultrafibrils of Lupolen 6001 have a very uniform thickness of n X 90.7 A., where n = 1, 2, 3, and build up manyfold superstructures. The (hh0) “netplanes” at the boundaries of all observed mosaic blocks both in single PE crystals and in hot‐stretched material fluctuate statistically by 0.6 A., hence are no longer planes. The structure in the grain boundaries is discussed. Measurements of the diamagnetic susceptibility give evidence of three types of conformation, α, β, and γ, which play an important role in the different superstructures.