Ultrathin Films of Poly(ethylene oxides) on Oxidized Silicon. 2. In Situ Study of Crystallization and Melting by Hot Stage AFM

We report on the isothermal crystallization behavior of thin (film thickness d 500 nm), crystallization temperature (40−62 °C), and molar mass (11−100 kg/mol). On the basis of the Hoffman−Weeks extrapolation, the Gibbs−Thomson equation, and the Hoffman−Lauritzen theory, we show that the crystallization of PEO in thin and ultrathin films can be described with the same laws as the bulk crystallization. In addition, we find that the equilibrium melting points and surface free energies of the fold surfaces agree quantitatively with literature data for bulk crystallization and hence are not altered due to confinement in ...