Polymer, Vol.35, No.8, 1586-1592, 1994
New Dynamical Effects in Spherulitic Growth
Two unexpected phenomena have been observed during the study of the growth of alpha and beta spherulites of a poly(ethylene oxide)-resorcinol complex : an overgrowth rate (denoted as G(i)) of the fastest, namely the alpha-form, along the interface of the beta-form. and a transformation of the beta-form into the alpha-form, which propagates as a dynamic front at a constant rate G(t). The evidence for these two phenomena is demonstrated, and possible explanations are discussed. Measurements of the two rates, G(i) and G(t), are also reported.