Isothermal and Non-Isothermal Crystallization Kinetics of Conductive Polyvinylidene Fluoride/Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) Based Composites

This work deals with isothermal and non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of electrically conductive polyvinylidene fluoride/poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PVDF/PET) based composites. It completes our previous work in which we related the crystallinity of these conductive PVDF/PET based composites to their through-plane resistivity [1]. Isothermal crystallization was described using the logarithmic form of the Avrami equation and it was observed that the crystallization rate of the PVDF phase inside the composite became slower compared to that of neat PVDF. In non-isothermal crystallization, the Avrami exponent of PVDF phase did not show any noticeable variation;however, that of PET phase, which contains the major part of the conductive carbon black (CB) and graphite (GR) additives, showed an evident decrease compared with neat PET. It was also observed that, at the same cooling rate, the crystallization rate of PVDF and PET phases inside the composite was slower than that of neat PVDF and PET.

Study on crystallization behavior of Tibet butter

Tibetan butter(TB),generally called butter,is a solid oil product extracted from yak milk in the QinghaiTibet plateau area.However,due to the limitations of raw material sources and production technology,there is a shortage of TB,so it is important to find substitutes of TB.This paper studied the crystallization behavior of six kinds of commercial TB products in Tibet to provide the theoretical basis for the development of TB substitutes for the production of TB lamps and flowers.This study assessed the crystallization behaviors of the TB samples,including isothermal crystallization process and non-isothermal crystallization process.The microstructure,isothermal crystallization of TB were evaluated by polarized light microscopy and low-pulse NMR spectrometry,respectively.The non-isothermal crystallization process of TB under temperature scanning were investigated using Rheometer,and the crystallization behavior under different cooling rates were determined by diferential scanning calorimetry(DSC)procedures.The results showed that the TB was crystallized at a higher supercooling(-10,0 and 10℃).Dimensional growth is dominant;at 20℃,spiral growth dominates.The TB has complex crystallization nucleation behavior.The crystal types of TB are mainlyβ’-crystal form andβ’-like crystal form.The lower the cooling rate,the shorter the crystallization induction time,and the more the number of crystal nuclei.Therefore,during producing TB substitutes in the factory,the cooling rate can be controlled at10℃/min to reduce energy consumption and production costs.

Experimental and Data Fitting Guidelines for the Determination of Polymer Crystallization Kinetics

The crystallization kinetics of semicrystalline polymers is often studied with isothermal experiments and analyzed by fitting the data with analytical expressions of the Avrami and Lauritzen and Hoffman(LH)theories.To correctly carry out the analysis,precautions in both experiments and data fitting should be taken.Here,we systematically discussed the factors that influence the validity of the crystallization kinetics study.The basic concepts and fundamentals of the Avrami and LH theories were introduced at first.Then,experimental protocols were discussed in detail.To clarify the impact of various experimental parameters,selected common polymers,i.e.,polypropylene and polylactide,were studied using various experimental techniques(i.e.,differential scanning calorimetry and polarized light optical microscopy).Common mistakes were simulated under conditions when non-ideal experimental parameters were applied.Furthermore,from a practical point of view,we show how to fit the experimental data to the Avrami and the LH theories,using an Origin■App developed by us.