Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics and morphology of mica particles filled biodegradable poly(butylene succinate)

Biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) (PBS)/mica composites were prepared by melt blending. The non-isothermal crystallization kinetics, spherulitic morphology, and crystalline structure were investigated by DSC, POM, and WAXD, respectively. The concepts of ‘’crystallization rate coefficient'' and ‘’crystallization rate parameter'' were employed. The non-isothermal crystallization behavior was successfully analyzed by Avrami and Liu methods while the Ozawa method failed to describe it. The WAXD and POM results showed that the addition of mica did not alter the crystalline structure, but increased the number of nuclei and reduced the size of the spherulites. In addition, the activation energy was also obtained from Hoffman–Lauritzen theory. These results showed that the addition of mica into PBS matrix played a dual role: they acted as nucleation agents to promote the process of nucleation, while acted as physical impediments to retard the growth of crystal. The former was dominating as the crystallization rates of mica/PBS composites were accelerated. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2544–2556, 2013