Nanostructure evolution studies of bulk polymer materials with synchrotron radiation: progress in method development

The prospects of a modern analysis of nanostructure evolution during the processing of polymer materials by means of scattering from synchrotron radiation are demonstrated in examples. The beam sources have gained stability, shortages are located in beamline setups and in method development for the quantitative analysis of voluminous data sets. By using the proposed multidimensional chord distribution function (CDF) analysis method, nanostructure information from small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data are extracted and visualised. The method can be automated if the beamline setup is able to deliver a full data set with simple constraints. In this case even a simultaneous data evaluation is possible (while one pattern is accumulated, the previous one is analysed). The advantages of the method are demonstrated in a study of the straining of a thermoplastic elastomer. The possibilities of an automated analysis are demonstrated in an investigation of the crystallisation behaviour of high-pressure injection-moulded polyethylene (HPIM-PE). The achievable results of nanostructure analysis of polymer materials are discussed. It is shown that the time-resolved SAXS of polymer materials studied during a transformation and analysed by the CDF method is not just a powerful tool to investigate the relationship between structure and properties of materials; the information that can be gained concerning the processes that control nanostructure evolution is equally important. In the future the enlightenment of such relationships may help to tailor polymer materials with respect to their properties and, beyond that, to improve assessments concerning their aging.