- Previous Article
- Next Article
- Table of Contents
Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol.117, No.47, 14875-14884, 2013
Competitive Crystallization of a Propylene/Ethylene Random Copolymer Filled with a beta-Nucleating Agent and Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes. Conventional and Ultrafast DSC Study
A propylene/ethylene polymeric matrix was reinforced by the simultaneous addition of a beta-nucleating agent (calcium pimelate) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in various concentrations. The present manu. script explores the competitive crystallization tendency that is caused by the presence of the two fillers. On the one hand, calcium pimelate forces the material to crystallize predominantly in the beta-crystalline form, while, on the other, the strong a-nucleating ability of MWCNTs compels the material to develop higher a-crystalline content. An in-depth study has been performed on the nanocomposite samples by means of conventional, temperature-modulated, and differential fast scanning calorimetry (DFSC) under various dynamic and isothermal conditions. The results showed that beta-crystals are predominant at low MWCNT content (<2.5 wt %), while, at high MWCNT content, the material crystallizes mainly in the alpha-form. The recrystallization phenomenon during melting was confirmed with step-scan DSC, and the use of very high cooling rates by UFDSC made it possible to achieve and study the nucleation of the samples. The presence of MVVCNTs enabled the nanocomposites to crystallize faster under both isothermal and dynamic conditions. The activation energy of the samples was also calculated according to Friedman's theory.