Time resolved study of shear-induced crystallization of poly( p-dioxanone) polymers under low-shear, nucleation-enhancing shear conditions by small angle light scattering and optical microscopy

• Published in: Polymer (Guilford) 2002-08, Vol.43 (17), p.4699-4708
• Main Authors: Abuzaina, Ferass M, Fitz, Benjamin D, Andjelić, Saša, Jamiolkowski, Dennis D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Crystallization; Deforming shear; Exact sciences and technology; Nucleation-enhancing shear; Organic polymers; Physicochemistry of polymers; Poly( p-dioxanone); Properties and characterization
• ISSN: 0032-3861; 1873-2291
• DOI: 10.1016/S0032-3861(02)00300-2

Isothermal crystallization of the biodegradable homopolymer polyester poly( p-dioxanone) (PDS), and the p-dioxanone copolymer with glycolide PDS-copolymer were studied in situ and in real-time under quiescent or nucleation-enhancing shear conditions. It was found that the spherulitic growth rates remain unchanged with shear, while the nucleation density increases dramatically. Nucleation-enhancing shear conditions, which do not alter the general spherulitic morphology, consist of a short-duration step-shear. This is in contrast to isothermal crystallization under steady-shear conditions, where at low-shear rates, fibrillar crystalline structures form. At high crystallization temperatures, where under quiescent conditions crystal development requires several days, both PDS, and the PDS-copolymer can be made to crystallize in several hours by the imposition of a step-shear.