ISOTHERMAL CRYSTALLIZATION OF LAYERED SILICATE/STARCH-POLYCAPROLACTONE BLEND NANOCOMPOSITES

C.J. PEREZ, A. VÁZQUEZ AND V.A. ALVAREZ

JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY

Springer Link

Lugar: Budapest, Hungria; Año: 2008 vol. 91 p. 749 - 757

1388-6150

The isothermal crystallization behavior of layered silicate/starch-polycaprolactone blends nanocomposites was studied by means of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) measurements. The theoretical melting point was higher for the matrix than for nanocomposites. At low clay concentration, the induction time decreased and the overall crystallization rate increased whereas for higher clay content the opposite effect was observed.  Classical Avrami equation was used to analyze the crystallization kinetics of these materials. n values suggested that clay not only affected the crystallization rate but also influenced the mechanism of crystals growth.  An Arrhenius type equation was used for the rate constant (k).  Models correctly reproduced the experimental data. At low content, clays acts as nucleating agents whereas at higher concentrations became retardants.