The density of crystals of poly(ethylene terephthalate), (PETP), Qc is checked by X-ray diffraction assuming a triclinic unit cell and the indices of reflections as found by Bunn. The following unit cell dimensions are found: a = 4,48A, b = 5,85A, c = 10,75 A, α = 99,5°, β = 118,4°, and γ = 111,2°. This gives the density Qc as 1,515g/cm3 which is about 4% higher than that reported by Bunn. Negligible differences in spacings for samples annealed at different temperatures (120°C–260°C) have been found. Only for an annealing temperature of 100°C the higher d-values lead to Qc = 1,484g/cm3. For undrawn PETP films annealed at 250°C the same value of Qc as for drawn PETP was obtained on the basis…

Structure and properties of polyethyleneterephthalate crystallized by annealing in the highly oriented state

The structure of polyethyleneterephthalate bristles drawn about five times in the amorphous state and subsequently crystallized at temperatures between 100 and 260‡ C has been studied by means of small-angle X-ray scattering. In addition density, heat of fusion and wide-angle scattering behaviour were measured. For comparison, similar experiments were carried out with undrawn samples. The results showed that the degree of crystallinity of PET cannot be calculated from density data on the basis of a simple two-phase model, since the effective densitiesρc* andρa* of the crystalline and amorphous regions depend strongly on crystallization and drawing conditions. With rising crystallization tem…