Effect of nucleating agents on crystallization kinetics of PET
X. L. Jiang, S. J. Luo, K. Sun, X. D. Chen
Vol. 1., No.4., Pages 245-251, 2007
DOI: 10.3144/expresspolymlett.2007.37
DOI: 10.3144/expresspolymlett.2007.37
Corresponding author: X. L. Jiang 
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
Effects of three nucleating agents concluding talc, sodium benzoate (SB) and an ionomer (Ion., Na+) on crystallization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscope (POM), the parameters of crystallization kinetics were obtained through Avrami and Ozawa equations. The fold surface free energy σe of pure PET and PET/nucleating agent blends were calculated by Hoffman-Lauritzen theory. The results indicate that the three kinds of nucleating agents increase the crystallization rate constant through promoting their nucleating effect for PET crystallization, among which SB is the best one with the same content. The crystallization mode of PET might shift from three-dimensional growth to two-dimensional growth by the addition of the nucleating agents. The values of σe of PET/nucleating agent blends are much less than that of pure PET, and PET/SB (99:1) blend has the least value of σe (18.2 mJ/m2). The conclusion based on Hoffman theory is similar to the analysis by Avrami and Ozawa equations.
