IR spectroscopic study of the structure of isotactic polypropylene deformed by the crazing mechanism

The deformation of isotropic isotactic polypropylene with a spherulitic initial structure has been studied. Fourier transform IR spectra of polypropylene deformed to various stretch ratios in air and in a physically active medium have been recorded. From the spectroscopy data, the dichroic ratios and orientation functions have been calculated for the amorphous and crystalline polypropylene phases. It turned out that the orientations of macromolecules in the amorphous and crystalline polypropylene phases change identically while stretching in a physically active (water–ethanol) medium. However, the deformation in air leads to a more pronounced orientation of macromolecules in the crystalline phase as compared with the orientation in the amorphous phase. The maximum values of the orientation function in the deformation in air coincide with the stretch ratio at the yield point. This is how a physically active medium acts in crazing in comparison with shear deformation in air.