Temperature dependence of the crystal structures of nylon 11

Abstract : Careful examination of the X-ray diffraction patterns from melt-crystallized Nylon ll films showed significant discrepancies with the proposed alpha-form structure. These discrepancies did not disappear after annealing the samples. The temperature dependence of the d-spacings of the two strongest peaks showed further evidence that the melt-crystallized and solution cast films (alpha-form) possess different crystal structures. These results suggest a different crystal structure for the melt-crystallized films, and this would help explain the rather low piezoelectric response of these films and also the failure to observe a rapid decrease in polarization at the transition temperature.