Effect of Shear on the Crystallization of the Poly(ether ether ketone)

The effect of shear on the crystallization behavior of the poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) has been investigated by means of ex situ wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), small-angle X-ray scattering, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The changes of the intensity of WAXD patterns along shear direction of the PEEK induced by short-term shear were observed when the samples crystallized at 330 degrees C. The results showed that the dimensions of the crystallites perpendicular to the (110) and (111) planes reduced with the increase of shear rate, whereas the dimensions of the crystallites perpendicular to (200) plane increased with the increase of shear rate. Moreover, increasing shear rate can lead to the increase of the crystallinity as well as the average thickness of the crystalline layers. Correspondingly, a new melting peak at higher temperature was found during the subsequent DSC scanning when the shear rate was increased to 30 s(-1). (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 220-225, 2010