Influence of surface morphology on melting of polymer crystals II. Loops of random length and partially random reentry

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Abstract
The melting behavior of single crystals with loops of random length and partially random reentry has been calculated under two different assumptions: (1) at each temperature the loops have an equilibrium end-to-end distance distribution and (2) a certain end-to-end distance distribution of the loops, ω(h), determined by the kinetics of the crystallization is frozen in and maintained during the whole heating process. The ω(h) is calculated by considering the loop formation process during crystallization and by introducing a parameter λ which expresses the tendency of the chains for adjacent reentry. In both cases a melting range is obtained. In case 2, the melting range depends strongly on λ. It is shown that the assumptions in case 2 are physically more realistic than those in case 1.