Polymers and Polymer Composites

STRUCTURE AND CRYSTALLIZATION BEHAVIOUR OF POLY(EPSILON-CAPROLACTONE)/CLAY INTERCALATED NANOCOMPOSITES

August 1, 2004 By: Kiersnowski A; Kozak M; Jurga S; Piglowski J Research article

Title: STRUCTURE AND CRYSTALLIZATION BEHAVIOUR OF POLY(EPSILON-CAPROLACTONE)/CLAY INTERCALATED NANOCOMPOSITES
Page Range: p.727-737
Author(s): Kiersnowski A; Kozak M; Jurga S; Piglowski J
File size: 258K
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Journal: Polymers and Polymer Composites
Issue Year: ppc
Volume: 12
Issue No: No. 8

Abstract
Nanocomposites of polyepsilon-caprolactone(PCL)/M-HTAB were obtained by the polymerisation of caprolactone with various amounts of montmorillonite organophilised with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTAB). A study was made of the microstructure of the nanocomposites using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The melting enthalpies, the crystallinities and the half-time of isothermal crystallisation were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry. As a result of SAXS experiments for the composite PCL/M-HTAB 90/10 in the temperature range from 313 to 283 K, a rapid change in the interlamellar distance from 3.1 nm to 2.72 nm was observed. Similar scattering curves were obtained for the nanocomposite PCL/M-HTAB 70/30. In the composites containing 50% and 64% wt of M-HTAB, the decrease in interlayer distance was seen to be less pronounced in the same temperature range. Differential scanning calorimetry results are claimed to show clearly that the crystallisation is divided into two separate process: primary crystallisation in the PCL matrix, and secondary crystallisation. 20 refs.


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