Thermal properties and non‐isothermal crystallization behavior of poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/poly(lactic acid) blends

Abstract

AbstractThermal properties and non‐isothermal melt‐crystallization behavior of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT)/poly(lactic acid) (PLA) blends were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The blends exhibit single and composition‐dependent glass transition temperature, cold crystallization temperature (Tcc) and melt crystallization peak temperature (Tmc) over the entire composition range, implying miscibility between the PLA and PTT components. The Tcc values of PTT/PLA blends increase, while the Tmc values decrease with increasing PLA content, suggesting that the cold crystallization and melt crystallization of PTT are retarded by the addition of PLA. The modified Avrami model is satisfactory in describing the non‐isothermal melt crystallization of the blends, whereas the Ozawa method is not applicable to the blends. The estimated Avrami exponent of the PTT/PLA blends ranges from 3.25 to 4.11, implying that the non‐isothermal crystallization follows a spherulitic‐like crystal growth combined with a complicated growth form. The PTT/PLA blends generally exhibit inferior crystallization rate and superior activation energy compared to pure PTT at the same cooling rate. The greater the PLA content in the PTT/PLA blends, the lower the crystallization rate and the higher the activation energy. Moreover, the introduction of PTT into PLA leads to an increase in the thermal stability behavior of the resulting PTT/PLA blends. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry