Thermal properties and crystalline structure of poly(10-undecene-1-ol)

Atactic and isotactic-rich poly(10-undecene-1-ol)s were synthesized by metallocene-catalyzed polymerization. The thermal properties and the crystalline structure of the poly(10-undecene-1-ol)s were characterized using Dynamic Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Temperature-Modulated DSC (MDSC), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS). It was found that the polymers crystallize primarily at their side chains, which is indicated by similar arrangement of both isotactic-rich and atactic polymers. The polymers form smectic layer structures independent on their tacticity, however, for the isotactic-rich polymers, higher crystallinities were observed than for the atactic polymers in terms of higher melting enthalpies.