Antinucleating action of polystyrene on the isothermal cold crystallization of poly(ethylene terephthalate)

The effect of polystyrene (PS) on the kinetics of the cold crystallization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) was thoroughly investigated. The PET/PS blends were essentially immiscible, as observed by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, which showed two distinct glass‐transition temperatures, and by scanning electron microscopy. The neat PET and its blends were isothermally cold‐crystallized at various temperatures, and the kinetic parameters were determined with the Avrami approach. PET and its blends presented values of the Avrami exponent close to 2, and the kinetic constant increased with the crystallization temperature increasing. For all the crystallization temperatures studied, the presence of only 1 wt % PS significantly reduced the rate of cold crystallization of PET. A further increase in the PS concentration did not show any significant influence. The blends presented higher values of the activation energy for cold crystallization, which was estimated from Arrhenius plots. The equilibrium melting temperature of neat PET was determined on the basis of the linear Hoffman–Weeks extrapolative method to be ～ 255°C. This value decreased in the presence of PS, and this suggested limited solubility between PET and PS. From the spherulitic growth equation proposed by Hoffman and Lauritzen, the nucleation parameter was obtained, and it was shown to be higher for the neat PET than for the blends. Moreover, a transition of regimes (I → II) was observed in both PET and its blends. From the investigations conducted here, it is clear that PS in small amounts causes a reduction in the rate of PET crystallization, acting as an antinucleating agent. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009