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Insights into Polymer Crystallization from Phase-Field Theory

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Encyclopedia of Polymers and Composites

Introduction

The formation of diverse “soft” materials composed of synthetic and biological polymers, small molecule “gelator” molecules, as well as colloid particles and nanoparticles frequently involves structures formed by crystallization under far from equilibrium conditions so that the study of nonequilibrium crystallization lies at the heart of soft matter physics. A truly amazing diversity of structures can be formed in this way, and an equally diverse range of physical properties can be obtained by varying the thermodynamic ordering conditions; a fundamental theoretical and experimental challenge in this field is then to learn how to harness this structural polymorphism to create functional materials. The potential of this approach to material science fabrication is evidenced by numerous examples in the biological world (e.g., exoskeletons, claws, and pinchers of insects and crustaceans, etc.) where truly remarkable and tunable (even locally tunable) material properties can be...

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Acknowledgments

This work employs techniques developed in the framework of the EU FP7 Collaborative Project “EXOMET” (contract no. NMP-LA-2012-280421, co-funded by ESA) and ESA MAP/PECS projects “MAGNEPHAS III” (ESTEC Contract No. 4000105034/11/NL/KML) and “GRADECET” (ESTEC Contract No. 4000104330/11/NL/KML). We thank former NIST postdocs Vincent Ferreiro and Brian C. Okerberg for providing images of crystallizing polymers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Wigner Research Centre for Physics, P.O.B. 49, H-1525, Budapest, Hungary

    Dr. László Gránásy & Dr. Tamás Pusztai

  2. Brunel Centre of Advanced Solidification Technology, Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB8 3PH, UK

    Dr. László Gránásy

  3. Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA

    Dr. Jack F. Douglas

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  1. Dr. László Gránásy
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  2. Dr. Tamás Pusztai
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  3. Dr. Jack F. Douglas
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Correspondence to László Gránásy .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee, Saharanpur, India

    Sanjay Palsule

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Gránásy, L., Pusztai, T., Douglas, J.F. (2013). Insights into Polymer Crystallization from Phase-Field Theory. In: Palsule, S. (eds) Encyclopedia of Polymers and Composites. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37179-0_30-1

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