Commercial poly(p-phenylene sulfide) (PPS) was thermally cured, which resulted in an increase of molecular weight due to cross-linking. Non-isothermal crystallization studies of samples cured for up to 7 days at 250˚C showed a monotonous increase of crystallization temperature compared to pure PPS. However, a further increase of curing time decreased the crystallization temperature. The change in the half-crystallization time (t 1/2 ) was similar to the crystallization temperature. Thus, the cross-linking of PPS affected crystallization behaviors significantly. To a certain extent, crosslinks acted as nucleation agents, but excessive cross-linking hindered the crystallization. Morphologies observed by polarized optical microscopy suggested that thermal curing for as little as 1 day contributed to the spherulitic structure having a smaller size, that was not observed with pure PPS.

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