Observation of regime III crystallization in polyethylene/montmorillonite nanocomposites

Abstract

Exfoliated and intercalated polyethylene/montmorillonite (PE/MMT) nanocomposites with high MMT content were prepared by in situ polymerization. The isothermal crystallization kinetics of the nanocomposites were analyzed with Lauritzen-Hoffman regime theory. Regime III crystallization, which is difficult to observe in linear polyethylene, appears in the PE/MMT nanocomposites. The broader temperature range of regime III crystallization in PE/MMT nanocomposites shows that the mobility and reptation ability of the PE chains are greatly reduced by the MMT, especially in the intercalated nanocomposite. © 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.