title: Molecular basis of the shish-kebab morphology in polymer crystallization.
abstract: In the rich and long-standing literature on the flow-induced formation of oriented precursors to polymer crystallization, it is often asserted that the longest, most extended chains are the dominant molecular species in the "shish" of the "shish-kebab" formation. We performed a critical examination of this widely held view, using deuterium labeling to distinguish different chain lengths within an overall distribution. Small-angle neutron-scattering patterns of the differently labeled materials showed that long chains are not overrepresented in the shish relative to their concentration in the material as a whole. We observed that the longest chains play a catalytic role, recruiting other chains adjacent to them into formation of the shish.
authors.affiliation: Petrochemicals Research Laboratory, Sumitomo Chemical, 2-1 Kitasode, Sodegaura, Chiba 299-0295, Japan.
authors.forename: Shuichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kimata
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nozue
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kasahara
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Karino
authors.forename: Mitsuhiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shibayama
authors.forename: Julia A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kornfield