Properties of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) composites with carbon black

Abstract

Biodegradable poly(butylene succinate)/carbon black (PBS/CB) nanocomposite was prepared by melt compounding and the amount of CB loading was 3 wt %. The PBS/CB nanocomposite exhibited not only a good dispersion of aggregates of CB in the PBS matrix, but also an improvement in mechanical and electrical properties as well. The nonisothermal crystallization behavior and crystal structure of neat PBS and its nanocomposite were also studied by differential scanning calorimetry and wide angle X-ray diffraction in detail. The crystal morphology is observed by polarized optical microscopy. The Avrami equation and the Mo equation were employed to describe the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics. The Mo equation was found to be more suitable to predict the whole nonisothermal crystallization process for both neat PBS and its nanocomposite. It was concluded that the addition of CB retarded the crystallization rate compared with that of neat PBS at the same cooling rate, which can be attributed to restricting effect of CB on the segmental motions of the polymer chains. Moreover, the incorporation of the CB particles does not modify the crystal structure of PBS.