Epitaxial Effects on Polymer Crystallization

Abstract

The macroscopic properties of semicrystalline polymeric materials are remarkably dependent on their microstructure and morphology. This offers an effective way to tailor the properties of such materials through crystal engineering. For purposeful control of the crystal structure and crystalline morphology, many sophisticated techniques have been developed. For example, to obtain a particular crystal structure of a polymorphic polymer, proper choice of heterogeneous nucleation agent is frequently used, and highly oriented crystalline materials can be produced through crystallization under shear field. It should be pointed out that even though special crystallization pathways have been developed to control the individual structure of a semicrystalline polymer in a specific aspect, synchronous control of multiscale structures with several aspects still remains a challenge. In this connection, surface-induced epitaxial crystallization shows significant advantages over other methods. It is well documented in numerous research studies that epitaxial crystallization of polymers allows simultaneous control of the crystal structure, orientation, and spatial arrangement of the backbone chain. This review discusses how surface-induced epitaxy influences the crystallization behavior of semicrystalline polymers and what kinds of unique crystal structures and morphologies of the polymers can be obtained. We hope that this provides useful information for polymer processing in different application fields and promotes the technical development of new methods for preparation of high polymeric materials for advanced applications.