Isothermal crystallization of polyethylene/montmorillonite nanocomposites prepared by in situ polymerization

Polyethylene/montmorillonite (PE/MMT) nanocomposites were prepared by in situ polymerization. The isothermal crystallization of PE/MMT nanocomposites at different MMT concentration (from 0.1 wt % to 1.2 wt %) was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The crystallization kinetics shows that the Avrami exponent of PE/MMT nanocomposites is decreased compared with pure PE, which indicates a decrease in the crystal growth dimension. This is attributed to the stems of PE crystals confined in the MMT layers. The crystallization rates of PE/MMT nanocomposites are faster than those of pure PE. However, when the content of MMT increases from 0.1 wt % to 1.2 wt %, the crystallization rate of PE/MMT nanocomposites is decreased.