Rather, is there a limit to how much crystallinity before it is detrimental to polymer? Or is it best to have as much as possible?
the best thing to start with is how crystallization affect other operational properties of a specific polymer. in term of physical properties, transparent film has to be as less crystalline as possible. also there is a strong relation between crystallization and mechanical properties.
Abdul is right, you have to define what "detrimental" means in the context of your application. Higher crystalinity will in general make polymers more brittle and less able to be bent, stretched, or compressed. You may also see cracking in your polymer once crystallinity becomes higher.
Thank you gentlemen. I guess to summarize, the degree of crystallinity depends on my purposes correct? With increasing crystallinity, I will have a more brittle product but stronger and vice versa.
Are there any suggested research papers on this topic?
A quick google scholar search brought up these papers about PEEK specifically.
Good luck!
Talbott, Margaret F., George S. Springer, and Lars A. Berglund. "The effects of crystallinity on the mechanical properties of PEEK polymer and graphite fiber reinforced PEEK." Journal of Composite Materials 21.11 (1987): 1056-1081.
Hamdan, S., and G. M. Swallowe. "Crystallinity in PEEK and PEK after mechanical testing and its dependence on strain rate and temperature." Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics 34.4 (1996): 699-705.
Lee, Lidia H., Janice J. Vanselow, and Nathaniel S. Schneider. "Effects of mechanical drawing on the structure and properties of PEEK." Polymer Engineering & Science 28.3 (1988): 181-187.
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