Abstract
In this study, a thorough study of the crystallization behaviors of the biodegradable polymer composites of poly(ethylene succinate) (PESu) and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) was carried out. We found that h-BN had a significant nucleation effect on crystallization behaviors. DSC isothermal crystallization results demonstrated that the crystallization time of the PESu/h-BN composites became shorter after adding h-BN. The rate constant k values calculated from the Avrami equation were larger for the composites, demonstrating that PESu’s crystallization rate was increased by adding h-BN. TEM and SEM images showed the well-dispersed h-BN in the PESu matrix. Optical microscopy revealed that the PESu/h-BN composites formed more and smaller spherulites than neat PESu did, which confirmed that h-BN caused the nucleation effect. H-BN also accelerated non-isothermal crystallization kinetics. We discussed the behaviors of the Mo model, which demonstrated that h-BN promoted the kinetics of non-isothermal crystallization. The XRD diffraction patterns showed that h-BN in the composites would not obviously change the crystalline structure of PESu.
Highlights
In order to meet the different needs of life, different types of polymeric materials have been developed
The crystallization behaviors of general biodegradable polyesters such as poly(lactide) (PLA), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), poly(ethylene adipate) (PEA), poly(butylene adipate) (PBA), and poly(butylene succinate) (PBSu) have been discussed in the literature [9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18], which found that the crystallization rates of these polymers can be increased by nucleation agents such as orotic acid, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes, graphite oxide, calcium carbonate, the stereocomplex of PLA, the inclusion complex of cyclodextrin, and biocompatible diamide
Semi-crystalline poly(ethylene succinate) (PESu) is a biodegradable polyester which can be polymerized with the polycondensation method by aliphatic diacid and aliphatic diol such as succinic acid and 1,2-ethanediol, respectively [19,20,21]
Summary
In order to meet the different needs of life, different types of polymeric materials have been developed. The fillers could improve the nucleation effect to increase the crystallization rate of PESu. The PESu’s physical properties and crystallization rate can be enhanced by adding useful fillers such as graphene and. H-BN has been added to binary or ternary polymer composites to introduce its nucleation effect and affect their crystallization properties [36,37]. A very small amount of h-BN can efficiently improve the crystallization of PESu. H-BN caused a significant nucleation effect on the crystallization of PESu. The complete discussion of the crystallization kinetics of the composites in this study is expected to be helpful in the development of green biodegradable polymers in the future
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