Visualizing polymer crystallization in ultrathin layers using a single-macromolecule tracking method.
Single-(macro) molecule tracking is used for the first time here to study the crystallization process in ultrathin layers of single poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) chains. Diffusion trajectories of macromolecules diffusing toward the crystal followed by deposition onto the crystal-growth front display different types of motion, such as Brownian and directed motions, prior to crystallization. We show that PEO chains in the amorphous layer and in the less concentrated or depleted zone exhibit Brownian motion of different diffusion rates as a result of heterogeneities in the environment.
Bi
Wuguo
W
Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371.
Teguh
Jefri S
JS
Yeow
Edwin K L
EK