SAXS and WAXS investigations of the crystallinity in polymers

Abstract The crystallinity of polyethylene, polyethyleneterephthalate, and polypropylene was measured with the aid of wide angle (WAXS) and small angle (SAXS) X‐ray scattering methods. The values of crystallinity evaluated using the latter method are distinctly larger than those ones given by the WAXS method. The differences are supposed to be associated with the transition layer existing between the amorphous and crystalline regions. It was concluded that small angle X‐ray scattering cannot be employed as an independent routine method of crystallinity determination.