Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy Study on Force-Induced Melting in Polymer Single Crystals: The Chain Conformation Matters

Understanding the conformation effect on force-induced melting is important for developing advanced semicrystalline polymer materials. Here, two types of polymer single crystals, polycaprolactone (zigzag conformation) and poly­(l-lactic acid) (helical conformation), have been selected to study the c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Macromolecules 2019-02, Vol.52 (3), p.1327-1333
Main Authors: Song, Yu, Ma, Ziwen, Yang, Peng, Zhang, Xiaoye, Lyu, Xiujuan, Jiang, Ke, Zhang, Wenke
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Understanding the conformation effect on force-induced melting is important for developing advanced semicrystalline polymer materials. Here, two types of polymer single crystals, polycaprolactone (zigzag conformation) and poly­(l-lactic acid) (helical conformation), have been selected to study the conformation effect on force-induced melting by using the atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS). We find that the zigzag chains facilitate the stick–slip motion, and the single helical chain takes smooth motion during force-induced melting from the single crystals. Furthermore, we illustrate that the conformation acts on the force-induced melting by defining the interaction in between the adjacent stems. This SMFS study deepens our understanding on the relationship between the chain conformation and nanomechanical properties of polymer crystals.
ISSN:0024-9297
1520-5835
DOI:10.1021/acs.macromol.8b02702