Bending contribution to line‐broadening in polymer diffraction

It is proposed that bending of solution‐grown polymer crystals causes the observed diffraction line‐broadening in many cases. Independent estimates and observations of the severity of bending which can be sustained are used to calculate corresponding apparent crystal sizes, where the apparent crystal size is that obtained when it is assumed that broadening is caused by the small crystal size effect only. Bending broadening is found to be of sufficient magnitude to produce the observed broadening reported in the literature. Some of the steps taken so far in the development of line‐broadening analysis for polymer crystals show similarities with the evolution of line‐broadening analysis for graphitic carbons and a brief review of the latter is included.