A re-examination of the elastic modulus dependence on crystallinity in semi-crystalline polymers

The elastic modulus versus crystallinity linear relationship in Polyethylene (PE) is re-examined via meticulous measurements over a wide set of PE. First, large discrepancies to linearity are observed; moreover, Raman spectroscopy revealed that the content of the so-called interphase exhibits considerable variations over the set of PE. Therefore a novel strategy based on DMA is developed for a better identification of the modulus of each phase...