Chemical Etching Technique for the Investigation of Melt-crystallized Isotactic Polypropylene Spherulite and Lamellar Morphology by Scanning Electron Microscopy

The spherulitic and lamellar morphologies of melt crystallized isotactic polypropylene (iPP) have been investigated according to various crystallization temperatures and times. In this study, an appropriate chemical etching condition for the observation of iPP morphology by scanning electron microsc...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microscopy and microanalysis 2001-05, Vol.7 (3), p.276-286
Main Authors: Park, Jemyung, Eom, Kyuyoung, Kwon, Ohjun, Woo, Sangsun
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The spherulitic and lamellar morphologies of melt crystallized isotactic polypropylene (iPP) have been investigated according to various crystallization temperatures and times. In this study, an appropriate chemical etching condition for the observation of iPP morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is determined. The optimum etchant formulation is 3 wt% potassium permanganate with the mixed solvent of sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid. The morphologies after etching reveal the microstructure of iPP clearly, such as the characterization of α/β spherulites and the different lamellar growth patterns.
ISSN:1431-9276
1435-8115
DOI:10.1007/S100050010074