Scientific Achievement
- Researchers in the Soft Matter Electron Microscopy program revealed, with controlled beam damage, In-situ 4D-STEM imaging HDPE crystallization occurs through formation of larger domains with ordered chains and uniform unit cell orientation
Significance and Impact
- Demonstrates that In-situ 4D-STEM imaging advances understanding of semi-crystalline polymer crystallization, which is critical to structural optimization of commodity polymers
Research Details
- In-situ 4D-STEM imaging of HDPE crystallization
- Controlled beam damage for high-quality data
- Quantitative analysis of dynamic evolution of lamellar morphology during heating/cooling
Publication Details
M. Chen, K. C. Bustillo, Y. J. Lee, Colin Ophus, J. Ciston, B. A. Abel, X. Jiang, N. P. Balsara, A. M. Minor, Macromolecular Rapid Communications (2025).
Work was performed at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and in part at NERSC and the Molecular Foundry, and the Advanced Light Source.
