Crystallization behavior of poly(trimethylene terephthalate)-poly (ethylene glycol) segmented copolyesters/multi-walled carbon nanotube nanocomposites

Poly(trimethylene terephthalate)-poly(ethylene glycol) segmented copolyester (PTEG)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites with various MWCNT content and copolyester composition were prepared by solution blending and the effect of MWCNTs on the crystallization behavior of FTEG copolymers was explored by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), depolarized light intensity (DLI) technique and polarized light microscopy (PLM). The dynamic crystallization and the crystallization morphology of the nanocomposites are discussed. The isothermal crystallization kinetics was analyzed by means of a two stage crystallization kinetics model. The results showed that MWCNTs take the role of an effective nucleating agent during composite crystallization and can expedite the process of crystallization of the PTEG matrix by providing more nucleation sites to the crystallizing phase, which results in the formation of smaller spherulites. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.