Nanotexturized polytetrafluoroethylene substrates formed by large crystalline nanofibrils in amorphous matrices

Plastic deformation has proved to be an attractive tool for obtaining ultrafine grained and nanocrystalline metallic materials. A description of plastic deformation as a technique to create nanotexturized polytetrafluoroethylene substrates free of defects, such as pores or impurities, which has potential applications as templates for the oriented growth of organic and inorganic compounds, is presented here. The obtained morphology characterized by nanosized fibrils arrangements was revealed by atomic force microscopy. Nanofibrils with a width from 330 to 980 nm and lengths from 1.85 to 11 microm were observed on polytetrafluoroethylene substrates annealed at 330 degrees C and 390 degrees C, respectively. Wide angle X-ray scattering spectra for untreated and annealed samples show that there is a slight decrease in the amorphous component for samples annealed at 380 degrees C but not for samples annealed at 330 degrees C showing that the amorphous substrate matrix in little altered by the annealing. The pattern formation is associated with superficial polymeric domains that become large crystalline nanofibrils in an amorphous matrix.