Non-isothermal Crystallization Kinetics of Poly (Ethylene Terephthalate)/Grafted Carbon Black Composite

Summary The grafted carbon black (GCB) was prepared by in-situ grafting low molecular weight compound on the surface of carbon black (CB) using a new technique. Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/grafted carbon black (PET/GCB) and poly(ethylene terephthalate)/ carbon black (PET/CB) composites were prepared by melt blending. The non-isothermal crystallization process of virgin Poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET), PET/CB, and PET/GCB composites were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics was analyzed using different approaches, i.e. modified Avrami equation, Ozawa equation and the method developed by Liu. The effective energy barrier ΔE of virgin PET, PET/CB, and PET/GCB composites were calculated using the differential iso-conversional method. All of the results showed that GCB and CB acted as nucleating agents and increased the crystallization rate of PET. Compared with CB, GCB was a more effective nucleator for PET.