Evolution of the lamellar structure during crystallization of a semicrystalline-amorphous polymer blend: time-resolved hot-stage SPM study.

The mechanisms of polymer crystallization at the nanometer scale have been investigated with a hot-stage scanning probe microscope (SPM). The processes of lamellar perfection, e.g., lamellar thickening and merging of lamellar fragments, are revealed during the secondary crystallization stage. It is shown that the information contained in SPM images can be comparable to that of time-resolved small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). In addition, SPM opens the way to examine subtle structural changes that would certainly be overlooked in the global morphological parameters obtained from a simple SAXS correlation function analysis.