Comparative study of the crystallization behavior and morphologies of carbon and glass fiber reinforced poly(ether ether ketone) composites

Abstract

This work aims to perform a systematic investigation on the crystallization behavior and morphologies of carbon and glass fiber reinforced PEEK. The nonisothermal and isothermal crystallization behavior was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The resultant morphologies were assessed by wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and polarized optical microscopy (POM) to provide details on spherulitic level, crystalline structure at unit cell, and lamellar levels. It was found that the crystallization ability of carbon fiber filled PEEK was better than that of neat PEEK, while the behavior of glass fiber filled PEEK was in an opposite trend. The incorporation of carbon fiber (or glass fiber) led to a looser packing of the unit cell or a less crystal perfection of PEEK but did not change its crystal form as well as its long period of lamellae. The isothermal crystallization kinetics was analyzed by the Avrami model, suggesting that the crystallization mechanism of carbon fiber filled PEEK was different from that of neat PEEK and its glass fiber filled composites. Nevertheless, the POM results showed that fiber-induced transcrystallization in PEEK matrix was not evidenced for either carbon or glass fiber filled PEEK. Finally, the effect of carbon and glass fiber on the crystallization of PEEK matrix was discussed to some extent.