Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of poly(butylene terephthalate)/epoxidized ethylene propylene diene rubber/glass fiber composites

Abstract

Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)/glass fiber (GF) and PBT/epoxidized ethylene propylene diene rubber (eEPDM)/GF composites were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at a cooling rates of 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 °C/min, respectively. Morphologies of samples were observed with scanning electron microscopy and polarized optical microscopy. The specimens were prepared by melt blending. Analyses of the melt crystallization data by various macrokinetic models such as Jeziorny‐modified Avrami, Liu–Mo models, and Lauritzen–Hoffman equation revealed that GF accelerated the crystallization rate of PBT; furthermore, the eEPDM had two functions: on the one hand, eEPDM promoted PBT to form nuclei; on the other hand, eEPDM hindered the diffusion of polymer chains, but the nucleation effect exceeded the diffusion effect, thus, the eEPDM could increase the crystallization rate of PBT in PBT/eEPDM/GF. These results were further supported by the effective activation energy calculated by isoconversional method of Friedman. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:330–343, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers