Thermal treatment of a solid polymer material at a fixed or changing temperature that leads to desired changes in its physical structure and properties without involving complete melting or dissolution.
Notes: - Annealing of a crystalline polymer is usually carried out by keeping the polymer at temperatures just below its melting point.
- Annealing may be carried out by exposure of a crystalline polymer to a poor solvent or to its vapors.
- In a crystalline polymer, the process of annealing leads to reorganization and involves an increase of order in existing crystallites, an increase in degree of crystallinity, and changes to more stable polymorphs.
Source:
PAC, 2020, 92, 1861. 'Terminology of polymers in advanced lithography (IUPAC Recommendations 2020)' on page 1867 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2018-1215)