Poly(styrene‐co‐maleic anhydride) ionomers as nucleating agent on the crystallization behavior of poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Abstract

Poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) (SMA) ionomers were synthesized and designed as a new kind of nucleation agent according to the crystallization theory for improving the crystallization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). The crystallization behavior of PET with the addition of nucleation agents was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, polarized-light microscope, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Avrami equation and Hoffman-Lauritzen theory are adopted for analyzing isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization kinetics, respectively. The results show that the addition of 1 wt % SMA ionomers effectively accelerates the crystallization rate and reduces the fold surface free energy of PET at high temperature regions. PLM results also indicated that the crystals impinge on each other, thus decreasing the spherulite size for PET/SMA ionomers samples compared with PET. XRD measurement revealed that the introduction of SMA ionomers does not change the crystal structure but indeed accelerates the crystallinity of PET. The results clearly demonstrate that our synthesized SMA ionomers are an efficient nucleating agent for PET.

In situ polymerization of poly(styrene- alt -maleic anhydride)/organic montmorillonite nanocomposites and their ionomers as crystallization nucleating agents for poly(ethylene terephthalate)

“…According to the TGA results and our previous study [14], the IMs showed high thermal stability due to ionozation and incorporation of OMMT. The SMA-Na ionomer has been synthesized and showed the T 5% of 416 8C, suggesting that the SMA-Na had high thermal stability and could remain solid state during PET crystallization process thus providing nucleation sites around which PET spherulites can form.…”

“…As for the nanocomposites of PET and IMs, large interface was provided by OMMT nanoplatelets, resulting in improvement of crystallization rate of PET. Moreover, the SMA ionomers might interact with OMMT and PET chain end, simultaneously, which not only prevented the OMMT platelets dissociating from the PET crystalline region, but also provided heterogeneous nucleation sites for PET [14].…”

“…Our recent work revealed that poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) (SMA) ionomers (SMA-Na, Fig. 1d) can act as nucleating agent to improve the crystallization behaviors of PET [14,15]. However, the ionomers as nucleating agents cannot provide more and larger interfaces for crystal growth compared with that of inorganic compounds.…”

Research on synthesis and thermal properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) sulfonate group containing ionomer

“…23 Therefore, researches on nucleating agents for PET are mainly focused on organic nucleating agents due to the high compatibility and higher efficiency in the polymer matrix at low addition levels. 24,25 DuPont's Surlyn® 26 and Honeywell's Aclyn® 27 are commonly used organic nucleating agents in the industry for PET processing. However, these organic nucleating agents still have certain limitations.…”

“…Although the structures of PET and PBT are highly similar with amorphous miscibility, no co‐crystallization are formed in the crystallization region due to the unit cell mismatch, which deteriorates the crystallization properties of the blend 23 . Therefore, researches on nucleating agents for PET are mainly focused on organic nucleating agents due to the high compatibility and higher efficiency in the polymer matrix at low addition levels 24,25 . DuPont's Surlyn® 26 and Honeywell's Aclyn® 27 are commonly used organic nucleating agents in the industry for PET processing.…”