Impact of particle morphology on structure, crystallization kinetics, and properties of PCL composites with TiO2-based particles

Crystallization kinetics of polycaprolactone (PCL) filled with TiO2-based particles (TiX) was shown to depend on the TiX particle type and concentration, which were associated with a slight polymer matrix degradation. The partially degraded, shorter, and more mobile polymer chains increased the overall crystallization rate at the initial stage of crystallization, while at the later stages, the non-nucleating TiX particles acted as a sterical hindrance, slowing down the crystallization process. The PCL/TiX composites were prepared by melt-mixing and contained 2.5 and 5 wt% of the filler. The investigated TiX particles included isometric anatase microparticles (mTiO2) and titanate nanotubes with high-aspect ratio (TiNT). Light and electron microscopy showed very homogeneous dispersion of the mTiO2 particles in the PCL matrix, while the TiNT formed large agglomerates. In situ polarized light microscopy displayed faster isothermal crystallization of all PCL/TiX composites, but the micrographs indicated that the TiX particles did not act as nucleation centres. Isothermal DSC experiments, evaluated in terms of Avrami theory, confirmed the PLM results and showed that the overall rate of isothermal crystallization increased in the following order: PCL

Keywords:

• Crystallization
• Polymer
• Particle
• Composite material
• Anatase
• Nucleation
• Homogeneous
• Materials science
• Titanate
• Polycaprolactone
• Isothermal process
• Polarized light microscopy

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