Preparation of hybrid nanoparticle nucleating agents and their effects on the crystallization behavior of poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Abstract

In this research contribution, the primary objective was to enhance the crystallization behavior of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). To accomplish this tack, three kinds of new nucleating agents SiO2-diethylene glycol-LMPET (PET-3), SiO2-triethylene glycol-LMPET(PET-4) and SiO2-tetraethylene glycol-LMPET (PET-5) nucleating agents were prepared via grafting different oligomers (diethylene glycol; triethylene glycol and tetraethylene glycol) to the surface of nano-SiO2 and then linking to the low molecular weight poly(ethylene terephthalate) (LMPET). These nano-particle nucleating agents facilitated the crystallization of PET. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies of the composites that pure PET blended with PET-3, PET-4 and PET-5 indicated that the longer ethoxy segment in the nucleating agents exhibited (i) higher degrees of crystallinity; (ii) faster rates of crystallization; and (iii) higher crystallization temperatures. The Jeziorny method was employed to analyze the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of the composites. These works demonstrated that the PET-3, PET-4 and PET-5 were attractive nucleating agents for poly(ethylene terephthalate), and the longer the chain length of the ethoxy segment in the nucleating agents, the more efficient the nucleation effect.