EFFECT OF INTERLAMELLAR FORCES ON THE LONGITUDINAL ACOUSTIC MODE OF POLYETHYLENE CRYSTALS.

In the reported experiments, the fold periods and longitudinal acoustic modes (LAMs) for isothermally crystallized polyethylene (PE) single crystals were determined in the dried state and in the presence of decalin and silicone oil. Upon swelling with decalin, the fold period increased by 7% while the LAM peak frequency decreased by approximately 1 cm** minus **1. Several possible explanations for the change in LAM frequency are discussed but the exact interpretation is open to question. No change in fold period was observed upon soaking a dried crystal mat in silicone oil. This fold period invariance along with the fact that silicone oil has no effect on the melting point of PE crystals indicates that there is no significant interaction between the oil and the methylene groups on the crystal surface. It is shown that the LAM peak frequency for crystals suspended in silicone oil is the same as that for the dried crystals, indicating that interlamellar forces do not exert a significant perturbing influence on the LAM of polyethylene crystals.