Nonisothermal crystallization behavior of biodegradable poly(butylene terephthalate‐co‐butylene adipate‐co‐ethylene terephthalate‐co‐ethylene adipate) copolyester

A series of biodegradable aliphatic‐aromatic copolyester, poly(butylene terephthalate‐co‐butylene adipate‐co‐ethylene terephthalate‐co‐ethylene adipate) (PBATE), were synthesized from terephthalic acid (PTA), adipic acid (AA), 1,4‐butanediol (BG) and ethylene glycol (EG) by direct esterification and polycondensation. The nonisothermal crystallization behavior of PBATE copolyesters was studied by the means of differential scanning calorimeter, and the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics were analyzed via the Avrami equation modified by Jeziorny, Ozawa analysis and Z.S. Mo method, respectively. The results show that the crystallization peak temperature of PBATE copolyesters shifted to lower temperature at higher cooling rate. The modified Avrami equation could describe the primary stage of nonisothermal crystallization of PBATE copolyesters. The value of the crystallization half‐time (t_1/2) and the crystallization parameter (Z_c) indicates that the crystallization rate of PBATE copolyesters with more PTA content was higher than that with less PTA at a given cooling rate. Ozawa analysis was not suitable to study the nonisothermal crystallization process of PBATE copolyesters, but Z.S. Mo method was successful in treatingthis process. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Strain‐induced crystallization behavior of natural rubber and trans‐1,4‐polyisoprene crosslinked blends

The strain‐induced crystallization (SIC) behaviors of crosslinked blends based on natural rubber (NR) and trans‐1,4‐polyisoprene (TPI) with different content of TPI were probed explored by using synchrotron two‐dimensional wide angle X‐ray diffraction and dynamic mechanical analysis. The results showed that when TPI content is less than 70% no reflection peak of TPI but NR crystallite diffractions can be observed and the diffractions of TPI βform appear when TPI content is 70 wt % in the cocured blend. SIC of cocured blends started at smaller strain ratio than the pure NR. By calculating ΔS_def, it is found that the drop in entropy upon strain decreased when TPI is incorporated into NR due to the reduction of molecular mobility of NR. The degree of SIC and crystallization rate index in crosslinked blends monotonously decreased with the increase of TPI content. The apparent crystallite size exhibited some surprising variations. L₂₀₀ and L₁₂₀ decreased with the increase of TPI content in the cocured blends. These observations were usually caused by two factors: (i) Less number of polymer chains could involve in crystal growth due to the lower mobility of polymer chains in the cocured blends which is proved by dynamic mechanical analysis results; (ii) The mean distance between nuclei decreases, which was caused by the fluctuation of crosslink density in NR phase derived from the heterogeneous distribution of curatives in two phases supported by the varying tendency of curing degree and crosslink density. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of polypropylene/polypropylene‐g‐polystyrene/polystyrene blends

The nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of polypropylene (PP), PP/polystyrene (PS), and PP/PP‐g‐PS/PS blends were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry at different cooling rates. The Jeziorny modified Avrami equation, Ozawa method, and Mo method were used to describe the crystallization kinetics for all of the samples. The kinetics parameters, including the half‐time of crystallization, the peak crystallization temperature, the Avrami exponent, the kinetic crystallization rate constant, the crystallization activation energy, and the F(T) and a parameters were determined. All of the results clearly indicate that the PP‐g‐PS copolymer accelerated the crystallization rate of the PP component in the PP/PP‐g‐PS/PS blends. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Thin‐film nanostructure and polymer architecture in semicrystalline syndiotactic poly(p‐methylstyrene)–(cis‐1,4‐polybutadiene) multiblock copolymers

The thin‐film morphology of stereoregular syndiotactic poly(p‐methylstyrene)–(cis‐1,4‐polybutadiene) (sP(pMS–B)) multiblock copolymers has been investigated using tapping mode atomic force microscopy with variation of the polymer composition and monomer block lengths. The morphology of the thin films ranges from isolated circular domains of sP(pMS) embedded into a matrix of polybutadiene (PB) to isolated domains of PB embedded into a matrix of sP(pMS), passing through bicontinuous (jagged) lamellae when the pMS concentration is in the range 20–67 mol%. Multiple folding of the polymer segments, i.e. where reciprocal inclusions of polymer segments to each other phase are able to generate greater domain, has been postulated and validated by considerations on the polymer architecture and the thermal and crystalline behaviour. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Crystallization kinetics of poly(1,4‐butylene‐co‐ethylene terephthalate)

The crystallization kinetics of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and their copolymers poly(1,4‐butylene‐co‐ethylene terephthalate) (PBET) containing 70/30, 65/35 and 60/40 molar ratios of 1,4‐butanediol/ethylene glycol were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at crystallization temperatures (T_c) which were 35–90 °C below equilibrium melting temperature . Although these copolymers contain both monomers in high proportion, DSC data revealed for copolymer crystallization behaviour. The reason for such copolymers being able to crystallize could be due to the similar chemical structures of 1,4‐butanediol and ethylene glycol. DSC results for isothermal crystallization revealed that random copolymers had a lower degree of crystallinity and lower crystallite growth rate than those of homopolymers. DSC heating scans, after completion of isothermal crystallization, showed triple melting endotherms for all these polyesters, similar to those of other polymers as reported in the literature. The crystallization isotherms followed the Avrami equation with an exponent n of 2–2.5 for PET and 2.5–3.0 for PBT and PBETs. Analyses of the Lauritzen–Hoffman equation for DSC isothermal crystallization data revealed that PBT and PET had higher growth rate constant G_o, and nucleation constant K_g than those of PBET copolymers. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Crystallization and melting behavior of trans‐1,2‐syndiotactic polypentadiene

(E)‐1,3‐pentadiene was polymerized at ?30°C by using the catalyst system CoCl₂(PⁱPrPh₂)²–MAO. A trans‐1,2‐syndiotactic structure was attributed to the semicrystalline polymer obtained on the basis of the characterization carried out by FTIR, NMR, and WAXD techniques. The thermal behavior of the polypentadiene was investigated by thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry. Isothermal melt crystallization kinetics were analyzed according to the Avrami equation. Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics were elaborated by using Ziabicki and Avrami methods modified by Jeziorny. The equilibrium melting temperature was calculated. The thermal behavior of trans‐1,2‐syndiotactic polypentadiene was compared with that of 1,2‐syndiotactic polybutadiene. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 1970–1976, 2005     

Styrene–butadiene block copolymer with high cis‐1,4 microstructure

The sequential block copolymerization of styrene (St) and butadiene (Bd) was carried out with an activated rare earth catalyst composed of catalyst neodymium tricarboxylate (Nd), cocatalyst Al(i‐Bu)₃ (Al), and chlorinating agent (Cl). The microstructure, composition, and morphology of the copolymer were characterized by FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and TEM. The results show that styrene–butadiene diblock copolymer with high cis‐1,4 microstructure of butadiene units (～ 97 mol %) was synthesized. The cis‐selectivity for Bd units was almost independent on the content of styrene units in the copolymer ranging from 18.1 mol % to 29.8 mol %. The phase‐separated morphology of polystyrene (PS) domains of about 40 nm tethered by the elastomeric polybutadiene (PB) segments is observed. The PS‐b‐cis‐PB copolymer could be used as an effective compatilizer for noncompatilized binary PS/cis‐PB blends. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Hydrogenation of synthetic cis‐1,4‐polyisoprene and natural rubber catalyzed by [Ir(COD)py(PCy3)]PF6

In the presence of chlorinated solvents, the catalytic complex [Ir(COD)py(PCy₃)]PF₆ (where COD is 1,5‐cyclooctadiene and py is pyridine) was an active catalyst for the hydrogenation of synthetic cis‐1,4‐polyisoprene and natural rubber. Detailed kinetic and mechanistic studies for homogeneous hydrogenation were carried out through the monitoring of the amount of hydrogen consumed during the reaction. The final degree of olefin conversion, measured with a computer‐controlled gas‐uptake apparatus, was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy. Synthetic cis‐1,4‐polyisoprene was used as a model polymer for natural rubber without impurities to study the influence of the catalyst loading, polymer concentration, hydrogen pressure, and reaction temperature with a statistical design framework. The kinetic results for the hydrogenation of both synthetic cis‐1,4‐polyisoprene and natural rubber indicated that the hydrogenation rate exhibited a first‐order dependence on the catalyst concentration and hydrogen pressure. Because of impurities inside the natural rubber, the hydrogenation of natural rubber showed an inverse behavior dependence on the rubber concentration, whereas the hydrogenation rate of synthetic rubber, that is, cis‐1,4‐polyisoprene, remained constant when the rubber concentration increased. The hydrogenation rate was also dependent on the reaction temperature. The apparent activation energies for the hydrogenation of synthetic cis‐1,4‐polyisoprene and natural rubber were evaluated to be 79.8 and 75.6 kJ/mol, respectively. The mechanistic aspects of these catalytic processes were discussed on the basis of observed kinetic results. The addition of some acids showed an effect on the hydrogenation rate of both rubbers. The thermal properties of hydrogenated rubber samples were determined and indicated that hydrogenation increased the thermal stability of the hydrogenated rubber but did not affect the inherent glass‐transition temperature. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 4219–4233, 2006     

Influence of imine‐carbon substituent in 6‐bromo‐2‐iminopyridine‐based cobalt(II) complexes on 1,3‐butadiene polymerization

6‐Bromo‐2‐iminopyridine cobalt(II) complexes bearing different imine‐carbon substituents ( Co1 – Co7 ) were synthesized and subsequently employed for 1,3‐butadiene polymerization. All the complexes were identified using Fourier transform infrared spectra and elemental analysis, and complexes Co1 and Co3 were further characterized using single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis, demonstrating they adopted distorted trigonal bipyramidal and tetrahedral geometries, respectively. Activated by methylaluminoxane, these complexes exhibited high cis‐1,4 selectivity, and the activity was highly dependent on the substituent at the imine‐carbon position of the ligand. Addition of PPh₃ to the polymerization systems could enhance the catalytic activity and simultaneously switched the selectivity from cis‐1,4 to cis‐1,2 manner. On the basis of the obtained results, a plausible mechanism involving the regulation of selectivity and activity is proposed. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Sulfonated polybutadiene ionomer‐templated nanocopper composites

New composites based on nanosize particles provide a promising route to the fabrication of novel materials for advanced technology applications in the 21st century. To prepare desired materials, it is important to control the composition and distribution of nanoclusters within the bulk or surface coating of nanostructured materials. To achieve this aim, we developed a novel method of preparing nanocopper–ionomer thermoplastic composite material with sulfonated cis‐1,4‐polybutadiene random ionomer as a matrix and a capping polymer in organic solvent. The effect of sonication on stabilized nanocopper colloid was studied. The self‐assembled composite film was characterized by ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, ¹H‐NMR, and thermogravimetric analysis. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 3180–3184, 2002     

Synthesis and characterization of poly (styrene‐b‐[(butadiene)1−x‐(ethylene‐co‐butylene)x] ‐b‐styrene) star‐like molecular polymers produced by partial hydrogenation of SBS

This article reports the synthesis and characterization of four arm star‐shaped poly(styrene‐b‐[(butadiene)_1?x‐(ethylene‐co‐butylene)_x]‐b‐styrene) (SBEBS) copolymers. A series of SBEBS copolymers with different compositions of the elastomeric block were produced by hydrogenating a given poly(styrene‐b‐butadiene‐b‐styrene) (SBS) copolymer using a catalyst prepared from bis(η⁵‐cyclopentadienyl)titanium(IV) dichloride and n‐butyllithium. The characterization was accomplished by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results indicate that there is a selective saturation of the polybutadiene block over the polystyrene block; this selectivity was determined by the Ti/Li molar ratio and the concentration of Ti. It was observed that the saturation rate of the 1,2‐vinyl was higher than that of the 1,4‐trans and 1,4‐cis poly(butadiene)‐b isomers. The DSC and DMA results indicate that the degree of hydrogenation had a profound effect on the polymer's relaxation behavior. All samples exhibited a biphasic system behavior with two distinct transitions corresponding to the elastomeric and polystyrene blocks. SBEBS copolymers with higher saturation levels (>33%) exhibited a crystalline character. The TGA results indicated a characteristic weight loss temperature in all samples, with slightly higher thermal degradation stabilities in the materials with higher degrees of saturation. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:2332–2344, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Formation of SBS thermoplastic block copolymer using hexamethyleneimine alkenyl lithium (N‐Li) initiator

Styrene and butadiene block copolymers (SBS) end functionalized with amino group at the initiating chain ends were synthesized using hexamethyleneimine alkenyl lithium (N‐Li) as initiator, tetrahydrofuran (THF) as polar modifier, and cyclohexane as solvent. By attaching a few number of butadiene molecules to N‐lithium hexamethyleneimine, a new N‐Li initiator that can effectively initiate the polymerization of SBS was obtained. ¹H NMR spectrums of the N‐Li initiator terminated by ethanol, end functionalized polystyrene, and SBS block copolymer proved the structure of N‐Li and its ability to initiate the polymerization of styrene and SBS block copolymer. Kinetics studies suggested that the polymerization rate of styrene in the first block reached the maximum when the ratio of THF/Li was increased to 5, while further increase of the ratio of THF/Li could not improve the polymerization rate. The molecular weight distribution (MWD) of SBS initiated by N‐Li varied with the ratio of THF/Li. The vinyl content of polybutadiene block increased by improving the ratio of THF/Li, while the content of cis‐1,4 and trans‐1,4 structures decreased. The vinyl content of end functionalized SBS was somewhat higher than that of SBS initiated by classical n‐butyllithium when other condition was the same. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 81–88, 2006     

Melting behavior,crystallization kinetics and morphology of random copolyesters of poly(2‐hydroxyethoxybenzoate) with ε‐caprolactone

The melting behavior after isothermal crystallization and the crystallization kinetics of random poly(2‐hydroxyethoxybenzoate/ε‐caprolactone) copolymers rich in 2hydroxyethoxybenzoate units were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry and hot‐stage optical microscopy. The observed multiple endotherms, which are commonly displayed by polyesters, were found to be influenced both by crystallization temperature and composition. By applying the Hoffman‐Weeks method to the melting temperatures of isothermally crystallized samples, the equilibrium melting temperatures of the copolymers were obtained. Furthermore, isothemal crystallization kinetics was analyzed according to the Avrami treatment. Values of the exponent n close to 3 were obtained, independently of crystallization temperature and composition, in agreement with a crystallization process originating from predeterminated nuclei and characterized by three‐dimensional spherulitic growth. Space‐filling banded spherulites were observed by hot‐stage optical polarizing microscopy at all the crystallization temperatures explored, the band spacing being affected by both crystallization temperature and composition. As expected, the introduction of ε‐caprolactone comonomeric units in the polymer chain of PHEBA was found to decrease its crystallization rate.     

The influence of Ni/Nd‐based Ziegler–Natta catalyst on microstructure configurations and properties of butadiene rubber

Neodymium (Nd)‐based Ziegler–Natta catalyst has been well known for preparing polybutadiene rubber (BR) containing high, about 98%, cis−1,4 configuration with extremely low gel content providing superior resistance to low‐temperature fatigue and abrasion. However, its cost is more expensive than a conventional nickel (Ni)‐based catalyst. The Nd‐BR has poor processability with high cold flow due to its high linearity and molecular weight. To compare with a traditional process, the BR produced by Ni‐based catalyst has higher level of branching resulting in the better processability, but it contains medium amount of gel. To balance the catalyst cost and the BR properties, this article reported the influence of a solution containing Ni‐ and Nd‐based Ziegler–Natta catalyst (Ni/Nd) using diethyl aluminum chloride and triethyl aluminum as co‐catalysts on 1,3‐butadiene (BD) conversion and physical properties of the elastomeric materials based on obtained rubber (Ni/Nd‐BR). In the presence of toluene, the increase in the Ni/Nd molar ratio from 0.0/1.0 to 0.4/0.6 yielded Ni/Nd‐BR containing cis−1,4 units of 95%–96% with significantly decreasing both levels of vinyl−1,2 and trans−1,4 configurations from 0.26% to 0.13% and 4.44% to 3.07%, respectively. When cyclohexane was applied as the reaction media, 100% BD conversion was achieved and the Ni/Nd‐BR had very low content of vinyl−1,2 unit (0.07%). The mechanical properties in terms of tensile properties and abrasion resistance of the elastomer based on Ni/Nd‐BR having high cis‐1,4 and relatively higher trans−1,4 configurations were superior to elastomers based on commercial BRs produced by using Ni‐ and Nd‐based catalyst systems. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41834.     

Nonisothermal and isothermal crystallization kinetics of nylon‐12

The isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization behavior of Nylon 12 was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). An Avrami analysis was used to study the isothermal crystallization kinetics of Nylon 12, the Avrami exponent (n) determined and its relevance to crystal growth discussed and an activation energy for the process evaluated using an Arrhenius type expression. The Lauritzen and Hoffman analysis was used to examine the spherulitic growth process of the primary crystallization stage of Nylon 12. The surface‐free energy and work of chain folding were calculated using a procedure reported by Hoffmann and the work of chain folding per molecular fold (σ) and chain stiffness of Nylon 12 (q) was calculated and compared to values reported for Nylons 6,6 and 11. The Jeziorny modification of the Avrami analysis, Cazé and Chuah average Avrami parameter methods and Ozawa equation were used in an attempt to model the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of Nylon 12. A combined Avrami and Ozawa treatment, described by Liu, was used to more accurately model the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of Nylon 12. The activation energy for nonisothermal crystallization processes was determined using the Kissinger method for Nylon 12 and compared with values reported previously for Nylon 6,6 and Nylon 11. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Synthesis of star‐shaped poly(ε‐caprolactone)‐b‐poly(L‐lactide) copolymers: From star architectures to crystalline morphologies

Hexa‐armed star‐shaped poly(ε‐caprolactone)‐block‐poly(L ‐lactide) (6sPCL‐b‐PLLA) with dipentaerythritol core were synthesized by a two‐step ring‐opening polymerization. GPC and ¹H NMR data demonstrate that the polymerization courses are under control. The molecular weight of 6sPCLs and 6sPCL‐b‐PLLAs increases with increasing molar ratio of monomer to initiator, and the molecular weight distribution is in the range of 1.03–1.10. The investigation of the melting and crystallization demonstrated that the values of crystallization temperature (T_c), melting temperature (T_m), and the degree of crystallinity (X_c) of PLLA blocks are increased with the chain length increase of PLLA in the 6sPCL‐b‐PLLA copolymers. On the contrary, the crystallization of PCL blocks dominates when the chain length of PLLA is too short. According to the results of polarized optical micrographs, both the spherulitic growth rate (G) and the spherulitic morphology are affected by the macromolecular architecture and the length of the block chains. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Miscibility and crystallization behavior of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate)/poly(vinyl acetate) blends

The miscibility and crystallization behavior of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) (P(HB‐co‐HV))/poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) blends have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM). It was found that P(HB‐co‐HV)/PVAc blends were miscible in the melt over the whole compositions. Thus the blend exhibited a single glass transition temperature (T_g), which increased with increasing PVAc composition. The spherulitic morphologies of P(HB‐co‐HV)/PVAc blends indicated that the PVAc was predominantly segregated into P(HB‐co‐HV) interlamellar or interfibrillar regions during P(HB‐co‐HV) crystallization because of the volume‐filled spherulites. As to the crystallization kinetics study, it was found that the overall crystallization and crystal growth rates decreased with the addition of PVAc. The kinetics retardation was primarily attributed to the reduction of chain mobility and dilution of P(HB‐co‐HV) upon mixing with higher T_g PVAc. The overall crystallization rate was predominantly governed by the spherulitic growth rate and promoted by the samples treated with the quenched state because of the higher nucleation density. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 980–988, 2006     

Synthesis and kinetic behavior of stereotriblock polybutadiene using dilithium as initiator

Anionic polymerization of butadiene was conducted in cyclohexane using 1,1,4,4‐tetraphenyl‐1,4‐dilithium butane (TPB–DiLi) as initiator and dipiperidinoethane (DPE) as modifier. The polymer design effects of DPE/TPB–DiLi (simplified as DPE/Li) and polymerization temperature on the 1,2 content of polybutadiene (PB) were examined and 1,2‐polybutadiene (1,2‐PB) with a nearly 100% 1,2 content was obtained. 1,2–1,4–1,2‐Stereotriblock polybutadiene (STPB) can be synthesized easily by means of one feed reaction. DSC and DMA analyses showed that STPB with the designed molecular structure (molecular weight, block ratio, and 1,2 content in 1,2 blocks) has two T_g's and two loss moduli and exhibits microphase separation. Studies on reaction kinetics established the polymerization kinetics equation of 1,4‐PB as ?d[M]/dt = 0.356[C]^0.5[M], indicating the first‐order relationship between polymerization rate and monomer concentration. At 50°C, the addition of the strong polar modifier DPE into the system increased the reaction rate. The apparent propagating activating energies before and after DPE addition were also determined in this study. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1049–1054, 2003     

Biodegradable poly(ester‐ether)s: ring‐opening polymerization of D,L‐3‐methyl‐1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one using various initiator systems

The synthesis and detailed characterization of racemic 3‐methyl‐1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one (3‐MeDX) are reported. The bulk ring‐opening polymerization of 3‐MeDX, to yield a poly(ester‐ether) meant for biomedical applications, in the presence of various initiators such as tin(II) octanoate, tin(II) octanoate/n‐butyl alcohol, aluminium tris‐isopropoxide and an aluminium Schiff base complex (HAPENAlOⁱPr) under varying experimental conditions is here detailed for the first time. Polymerization kinetics were investigated and compared with those of 1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one. The studies reveal that the rate of polymerization of 3‐MeDX is less than that of 1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one. Experimental conditions to achieve relatively high molar masses have been established. Thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy and entropy of 3‐MeDX polymerization as well as ceiling temperature have been determined. Poly(D ,L ‐3‐MeDX) is found to possess a much lower ceiling temperature than poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one). Poly(D ,L ‐3‐MeDX) was characterized using NMR spectroscopy, matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry, size exclusion chromatography and differential scanning calorimetry. This polymer is an amorphous material with a glass transition temperature of about ?20 °C. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Crystallization behavior and isothermal crystallization kinetics of PLLA blended with ionic liquid, 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium dibutylphosphate

The crystallization behavior and isothermal crystallization kinetics of neat poly(l ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) and PLLA blended with ionic liquid (IL), 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium dibutylphosphate, were researched by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarizing optical microscopy (POM), and wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WXRD). Similar to the non‐isothermal crystallization behavior of neat PLLA, when PLLA melt was cooled from 200 to 20°C at a cooling rate of 10°C min^?1, no crystallization peak was detected yet with the incorporation of IL. However, the glass transition temperature and cold crystallization temperature of PLLA gradually decreased with the increase of IL content. It can be attributed to the significant plasticizing effect of IL, which improved the chain mobility and cold crystallization ability of PLLA. Isothermal crystallization kinetics was also analyzed by DSC and described by Avrami equation. For neat PLLA and IL/PLLA blends, the Avrami exponent n was almost in the range of 2.5–3.0. It is found that t_1/2 reduced largely, and the crystallization rate constant k increased exponentially with the incorporation of IL. These results show that the IL could accelerate the overall crystallization rate of PLLA due to its plasticizing effect. In addition, the dependences of crystallization rate on crystallization temperature and IL content were discussed in detail according to the results obtained by DSC and POM measurements. It was verified by WXRD that the addition of IL could not change the crystal structure of PLLA matrix. All samples isothermally crystallized at 100°C formed the α‐form crystal. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41308.