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Molecular motion in polypropylene has been studied both by measurements of dynamic mechanical properties and by observations of nuclear magnetic resonance line shapes. The mechanical measurements were made in the audio-frequency region over the temperature range from 80°K to the melting point. Both completely amorphous and highly crystalline samples of polypropylene were investigated. In the amorphous sample, two transitions were observed, a broad but weak secondary one near 235°K and a relatively sharp primary one occurring near 270°K. For the highly crystalline polypropylene, two transitions centered at 250°K and 300°K, respectively, are associated with increased mobility in the amorphous regions and a third higher temperature transition is associated with crystalline melting. These transitions have also been investigated by observing the changes occurring in NMR line shapes as the temperature is varied.

Thin films of vapor-deposited nickel and gold, supported only by copper grids, were annealed inside the electron microscope. The microstructures were recorded as a function of temperature. The originally continuous thin films of nickel (150 Å thick) and gold (400 Å thick) form discontinuous islands at temperatures of 700° and 600°C, respectively. The islands of metal are supported by a thin amorphous membrane, in the nickel films identified as NiO, that accounts for the high tensile strengths observed on thin films.

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