Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Evidence for Distinct Sectors in Polymer Single Crystals

Abstract

IT was reported earlier that long-chain polymers could form single crystals in which the molecules have a regularly folded configuration1,2. Polyethylene in particular can have a paraffin-like crystal habit consisting of thin lozenge-shaped layers with each segment of the folded molecular chain normal, or approximately normal, to the plane of these layers. It was suggested3 that the molecules might fold in the plane of the growing faces, which are of the {110} type in the purely lozenge-shaped crystals. This implies that in the four different quadrants the chains are folded along four different <110> directions, and hence that the apparent single crystal consists in fact of four structurally distinct sectors in twin relation. So far as we know, this situation is unprecedented in crystalline substances.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Keller, A., Phil. Mag., 2, 1171 (1957).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Keller, A., and O'Connor, A., Nature, 180, 1289 (1957).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Keller, A., and O'Connor, A., Disc. Faraday Soc., 25, 141 (1958).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Agar, A. W., Frank, F. C., and Keller, A., Phil. Mag., 4, 32 (1959).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

BASSETT, D., FRANK, F. & KELLER, A. Evidence for Distinct Sectors in Polymer Single Crystals. Nature 184, 810–811 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/184810a0

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/184810a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing