球晶是半结晶性高聚物形貌的关键特征。本项目的研究目标之一，是使用激光共聚焦显微镜，首次对荧光染料掺杂聚合物中的球晶进行三维成像。此方法也将能用在超过几微米厚的样品中无损观测聚合物形貌，这更接近热塑材料本体中的实际情况。该方法的运用依赖于动力学诱导的荧光染料（或荧光标记的纳米粒子）分离而进入球晶的生长前沿，并在球晶碰撞之后进入球晶间界。本项目还将提供一种新技术，用于三维追踪半结晶性高聚物中的添加剂、杂质和纳米粒子的分布。同时，这技术也能实时二维追踪添加剂和纳米粒子的迁移，这将在大尺度范围测量纳米粒子分布情况提供一个二维和三维技术。本研究还将研究探索把兼容性荧光标记的纳米粒子引入到工程塑料中的新途径。这个可视化成像技术将为长期被忽视的一些重要科学问题的研究解决提供可能，包括球晶内部与之间的空穴、微裂缝形成及基底脱层等，这些问题对半结晶性高聚物和纳米复合材料的力学和光学性能存在潜在的不利影响。

Polymer spherulites are the key features of morphology of semicrystalline polymers. One of the objectives of our proposed project is to, for the first time, image spherulites in 3-D using confocal laser microscopy (CLM) of fluorescent dye-doped polymers. This method will also allow non-destructive observation of polymer morphology in specimens thicker than a few m, more representative of the bulk thermoplastic in real world. The method will rely on kinetically induced segregation of fluorescent dye or dye-labeled nanoparticles into the growth front of the spherulites and, after their impingement, into interspherulite boundaries. This project will also provide a technique for 3-D tracing of additives, impurities and nanoparticles in semicrystalline polymers. It will also show how migration of additives and nanoparticles could be traced in 2-D in real time. It will provide a 2-D and 3-D technique for determining nanoparticle distribution on a large scale. The proposed work will also develop new ways of introducing compatible fluorescent labelled nanoparticles into engineering plastics. Furthermore, the visualization method developed will allow investigation into the neglected problem of intra- and interspherulitic cavitation, microcrack formation and substrate delamination, potentially degrading mechanical and optical properties of semicrystalline polymers and nanocomposites.