Electron diffraction radial distribution study of liquid polyethylene

Abstract

Electron diffraction patterns of liquid polyethylene have been obtained at 140 and 200 °C in the ranges s =0.75 to 23 Å⁻¹ and 1.25 to 20 Å⁻¹, respectively. These data have been utilized to derive radial distribution functions, which at distances above roughly 20 Å show little detail. It was concluded that, since errors never smooth Fourier transforms, the polyethylene melts have a high degree of structural randomness and that conclusions to the contrary derived from diffraction studies must be met with great caution.