Morphology and thermal properties of recycled polyacrylonitrile fiber blends with poly(ethylene terephthalate): Microstructural characterization |
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| Authors: | Taoreed Adesola Adegbola Sadiku E. Rotimi Sinha Ray Suprakas |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa;2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa;3. DST‐CSIR National Centre for Nanostructured Materials, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa;4. Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein, South Africa |
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| Abstract: | The compounding of rPAN/PET [polyacrylonitrile/poly(ethylene terephthalate]; 30/70, 50/50, and 70/30 wt %) using a melt‐blending technique was the main focus of this investigation. An X‐ray diffraction study indicated the possibility of interphase boundary interactions between the polymer matrices in the blends. The differential scanning calorimetry results showed that varying the ratios of rPAN in the blends marginally improved the processing temperature of PET. The thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the addition of PET up to 70% increased the thermal stability of the blend, and adding more than 70% of PET resulted in poor adhesion between the matrix and phase. On the basis of the results obtained, we propose a general understanding of how the morphology and the mechanical and thermal properties of the blend could assist in the development of rPAN blends with PET, rather than disposing of the viable materials as wastes. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43777. |
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| Keywords: | blends crystallization differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) mechanical properties morphology |
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