Simulations have shown that temperature changes during the growth of lamelae/ribbons of a polymer crystal induce alterations in the thickness of the lamelar crystal. Therefore, the lamelae/ribbons would melt at different temperatures. This is demonstrated experimentally here for spherulites of Isotactic Polystyrene (iPS). The results were obtained following the melting process of selected spherulite structures through temperature scanning. The samples, in which chosen spherulites were observed, were crystallized from the melting state at successive crystallization temperatures. Observations of these spherulite melting processes were made with an optical polarized microscope, using a hot stage to apply the temperature scan.
Morphology; crystallization; crystalline thickness; spherulite structure; isotactic polystyrene
