Polymer Chemistry Crystal Melting Transition

Melting is the transition between a crystalline solid and a liquid. The melting point of a small molecule is very well-defined at a given pressure. Water, for instance, melts at 0^oC when P = 1 atm.

Polymers, on the other hand, do not have a single well-defined melting point. When a polymer "melts" it slowly becomes "leathery," then "tacky," and then liquid over a fairly broad temperature range⁴². The crystalline portion of the polymer is a nonequilibrium distribution of a large number of crystallites of different sizes and in different environments. They all do not melt at exactly the same temperature.

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Partial support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education through grants DUE #9950809 and DUE #9950296. Additional support was provided by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. PCOL faculty also acknowledge the National Science Teachers Association which awarded the PCOL Faculty Consortium the 1998 Gustav Ohaus Award for Innovation in College Science Teaching.

This page was last updated on July 11, 2000
whisnantdm@wofford.edu